2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CHURCH
The church consists of
an Eastern Transept,
129 ft. 5 in. long internally from north to south
and 34 ft. 2 in. wide,
Aisled Quire of five bays, North and South
Transepts, each of four bays in length, with
eastern aisle, Central Tower, Nave of eight bays,
with North and South Aisles terminating at the
west with Towers projecting in front of the
aisle walls, and a Western Porch, or Chapel,
known as the Galilee.
The Quire is 125 ft. long by 32 ft. 8 in.
wide, and the total width across Quire and Aisles
77 ft. 2 in., the Aisles being each 15 ft. 3 in. wide,
and the piers of the arcades 7 ft. thick. Each
of the Transepts is 62 ft. 9 in. long, by 33 ft. 7 in.
wide, exclusive of its Aisle, the total length across
Transepts and Central Tower being 171 ft. 9 in.
The Nave is 198 ft. long and 32 ft. 4 in. wide
and the width across Nave and Aisles 81 ft. 1 in.,
the Aisles being each about 17 ft. 6 in. The
Western Towers are each about 24 ft. 8 in.
east to west and 26 ft. north to south, and the
Galilee measures 76 ft. 6 in. from north to
south and 48 ft. from west to east. All these
measurements are internal.
The whole of the building is faced with dressed
stone, very much renewed, and the roofs of the
Nave, Quire, North Transept and Chapel of
the Nine Altars are slated. All the other roofs
are covered with lead. (fn. 1)
The eastern transept, or CHAPEL OF THE
NINE ALTARS, is divided vertically into three
main sections marked externally by major buttresses on the east side in line with the walls of
the quire, the middle section being thus much
narrower than the others, each of which internally is divided into three bays. The north-west and south-west angles are each covered by
a massive octagonal staircase turret, and at the
north-east and south-east angles are strong
piers of masonry forming buttresses weighted
by lofty pinnacles. The chapel is vaulted at
the same level as the quire, but additional
height is obtained by placing the floor 2 ft. 8 in.
below the quire aisle floor, an arrangement due
primarily to the fall in the ground at the east
end of the church. The walls, with the exception of the north wall, are divided horizontally
into two main stages, the division between the
stages being slightly above the triforium level
of the quire. A passage, approached by large
vices in the western angle turrets, is carried
through the north, east, and south walls at the
sill-level of the windows in the lower stage, and
there is a second passage in the east and south
walls at the base of the upper stage, which is also
the sill-level of the upper windows. Smaller
vices at the top of the main vices lead to passages
on the west side through which access is gained
to the eastern compartment of the quire clearstory. A vice in the turret capping the southeast buttress formerly led from the upper wall
passage to the roof, but was blocked at the
time of Wyatt's restoration.
In the ground stage the wall surface below the
windows and between the vaulting-piers is
entirely occupied by an arcade of elaborately
moulded trefoil arches inclosed by labels with
headstops, over the intersections of which are
elongated quatrefoil panels touching the sill
string, but not meeting over the heads of the
arches. Two of these panels, in the east wall,
are enriched—one with foliage and the other with
a sculptured figure—but all the rest are plain.
The arches spring from detached marble shafts
with stiff-leaf capitals and water-table bases
standing on a boldly moulded plinth, which on
the east wall is stepped upwards to clear the
altars which formerly were placed along it and
drops at the extremities of each section nearly
to floor level, the outermost shafts as originally
designed being nearly twice the length of the
others.
The east wall is divided internally into seven
bays by the vaulting-piers and externally by four
major and four minor buttresses. The width of
the great central bay was governed by that of the
quire, of which it now forms the structural
eastern termination; three altars were placed
in it, and the three bays on either side were set
out to contain one altar each, the clear width of
each bay between the vaulting-piers being roughly
equal to one third of the central bay.
The central bay is occupied by three lancet
windows in the lower stage and a large wheel
window above. Each of the narrow side bays
contains a large lancet window with a second and
less lofty lancet above it. The vaulting-piers
flanking the central bay are of half-lozenge plan,
each having seven detached marble shafts,
three on either face, and one, somewhat stouter,
at the apex of the pier. These are separated from
each other by stone shaft-rolls, and all have
richly carved stiff-leaf capitals some 4 ft. 6 in.
above the sill-level of the upper windows. The
shafts are encircled by annulets at the sill-level
of the lower tier of windows, and again at a point
about midway between this level and their
capitals. The vaulting-piers which divide the
three bays on either side are of the same character and rise to the same height, but they are
of slighter proportions, having each only
five detached marble shafts. The repair to the
southernmost pier referred to above consists
of the renewal in stone, with plain bell-capitals,
of about 2 ft. of the upper part of the detached
shafts next the wall. The rear-arches of the outer
lancets of the group of three which occupy the
lower stage of the central bay spring on the north
and south respectively from twin marble shafts
with foliage capitals and water-table bases with
circular plinths standing upon the sill. The
splayed jambs of the middle window meet those
of the side windows, and at the apex of each pair
of meeting splays are three similar shafts, the
rear-arches thus forming a continuous arcade.
All these jamb shafts are ringed at the level of the
upper annulets of the vaulting-piers. The reararches are of two orders moulded with filleted
rolls, the soffits of the inner orders being enriched
with dog-tooth. They are inclosed by labels
decorated with a foliage ornament set at intervals on their undersides, and having headstops
at their intersections and at the extremities.
The spandrels are plain, and the heads of the
labels touch the hollow string set with stiff-leaf
knobs which divides the two stages of the chapel
here and elsewhere. The jambs are pierced by
shouldered openings to take the lower wallpassage, and at the level of the heads of these
openings the triple shafts at the splay-angles of
the middle lancet are cut short, and rest upon
short shafts of marble with plain bell-capitals.
These windows, as well as all the other lancets
in the east wall of the chapel, were filled with
two-light tracery in the 15th century like that
which still remains in the southern windows,
but this was removed by Wyatt at the end of
the 18th century. Beneath the sill, which is
emphasized by a moulded string-course continuous with the lower annulets of the vaultingpiers, are nine bays of the wall-arcading, the
northernmost shaft of which has been curtailed
by the insertion of a later aumbry in the plinth
beneath. A second aumbry has also been formed
in the plinth near the middle of the bay. These,
with a third aumbry in the north wall, make up
the ' 3 or 4 little anvryes in the wall' described
in Rites. (fn. 2) In the upper stage the wall is set
back nearly to the face of the tracery of the great
wheel window, and the passage at this level
pierces the piers on either side as far back from
their inner face as possible, to ensure the
maximum amount of stability. The tracery of
the wheel window, which consists of thirty-six
trefoiled lights radiating from a central multifoiled circular light, was inserted by Wyatt in
1795. This window is described in Rites as
a 'goodly faire round window called St. Katherns window, the bredth of the quere, all of
stone … hauinge in it 24 lights (fn. 3) verye artificially
made, as it is called geometricall …' (fn. 4) The
glazing of the window is known to have been done
in the early 15th century at the cost of Thomas
Pikeringe, rector of Hemingbrough, 1409–12, (fn. 5)
but whether the tracery removed by Wyatt was
of this period, or contemporary with the
building of the chapel, is uncertain.
The lancets in the lower stage of the side
bays are slightly narrower than those in the
central bay, but are of the same general design
except that the outer jamb shafts are of stone
instead of marble. (fn. 6)
The jambs are pierced by the wall-passage and
the labels touch the enriched string-course
which divides the stages; the inner orders,
however, have dog-tooth enrichment on the
face as well as on the soffits. (fn. 7) Below each window
are three bays of wall-arcading.
In the upper stage the three lancets to the
south of the central bay have marble shafts to
their inner orders, but the outer orders are
continuous; the three windows north of the
centre bay are different, having attached double
jamb shafts of masonry, except the south jamb
of the innermost opening, which has a single
shaft of marble made out at the top with stone.
The jambs of all these windows are pierced by
the upper wall-passage, and the heads, which are
partly hidden by the vaulting, are inclosed by
labels. All this work was probably completed up
to the vault within a few years after 1242.
In the four angles of the chapel the vaultingpiers consist merely of three attached stone
shafts with annulets of the same material and
foliage capitals and bases similar to those of the
other piers. The south wall is divided into two
equal bays by a central vaulting-pier, each bay
being filled by two tiers of coupled lancets. In
the north wall the idea of a central vaulting-pier
appears to have been abandoned after the work
had reached the lower sill-level, and the whole of
the area above was filled by the present large
six-light window. This window, which cannot
have been constructed much before 1280, is
described in Rites as a 'goodly faire great
glass window called Josephs window, the Wch
hath in it all the whole story of Joseph most
artificially wrought in pictures in fine coloured
glasse accor(d)inge as it is sett forth uerye good
and godly to the beholders therof.' (fn. 8) The
window is of six trefoiled lights under a twocentred main head, and the tracery is of two
orders, the master-mullions dividing the lights
into three groups with as many two-centred
sub-heads, each filled by a trefoiled circle. The
tracery in the main head is formed by the intersection of the master-mullions, which meet
considerably above the sub-heads, and the compartments thus formed are filled by cinquefoiled
and trefoiled circles. The stiffening of the
enormous window surface is effected by an inner
system of tracery, consisting of clustered stone
shafts (fn. 9) with moulded bases and capitals carrying finely moulded arches, which repeats the
main order of the outer tracery and is connected
with it by through-stones. The lower wallpassage is continued along the sill, the jambs
being pierced by shouldered openings, but the
upper passage is of course interrupted. The
wall arcade is continued below the sill, the
plinth being stepped upwards at the east end to
clear the altar-pace. In the easternmost bay of
the arcade is the aumbry above referred to,
while the westernmost bay, which is nearly equal
in width to three of the others, has a stilted
two-centred head, and incloses a doorway, now
blocked, with a rear-arch of the same form. The
fact that the arcading is purposely designed to
allow room for the doorway leaves no doubt that
the work is all of one date, despite the tradition
which declares that it was made for the admission
of the body of Bishop Bek in 1311. (fn. 10) The
foundations of the intended central vaulting-pier
are visible in the pavement, and indications
exist in the stonework of the arcading which lead
to the conclusion that the pier was actually
carried up some distance above the base before
the change in plan was decided upon. On the
exterior the beginning of the intended sustaining
buttress remains, terminated by a gablet below
the sill of the window.
The south wall with its four coupled lancets
is the least satisfactory feature in the design of
the chapel. This may have been felt by the
builders themselves, and possibly determined
the change of treatment adopted in the north
wall which resulted in the substitution of the
magnificent six-light window for the somewhat
haphazard fenestration necessitated here by the
retention of the constructionally superfluous
central vaulting-pier, the design of which shows
a curious indecision. When the lower portion of
the pier was in course of building, it was not
foreseen that the vaulting-rib which it would
have to receive would be of an entirely subsidiary
character, and would therefore need but a single
shaft for its support. The plan at the groundstage is therefore identical with that of the
smaller vaulting-piers on the east wall, but the
attached marble shafts rise no further than the
annulet at the sill-level of the lower windows.
At the springing-level of the window heads the
three empty hollows between the outer stone
shaft-rolls of the pier are terminated by gablets,
and the plan of the pier changes to a rectangle
with a central attached filleted shaft, flanked by
attached shafts at the angles. The twin reararches of each pair of coupled lancets spring in
the upper stage from filleted shafts attached to
the extreme jambs and in the lower from shafts
of marble, and are received upon a central
mullion consisting of a cluster of shaft-rolls
connected to the front of the window by slender
through-stones at two levels. In the lower
windows the rear-arches of each pair are inclosed
by a two-centred containing order and in the
spandrel thus formed is a circular quatrefoil
panel: owing to the unequal splay of the jambs,
the rear-arches next to the vaulting-pier are
wider than the others, with the result that the
containing arches are very perceptibly out of
centre with the rear-arches beneath. All the
windows are filled with early 15th-century
tracery, each window having two transomed
lights with vertical tracery in the head. The
whole group is described in Rites as a 'good
glazed window called St. Cuthberts window,
the Wch hath in it all the whole storye life and
miracles of that holy man St. Cuthbert from
his birth of his natiuitie and infancie unto the
end and a discourse of his whole life, maruelously
fine and curiously sett forth in pictures in fine
coloured glass accordinge as he went in his
habitte to his dying day.' (fn. 11) At the west end of
the wall is a doorway like that on the north,
the wall arcade being similarly spaced.
The west side of the chapel, like the east, is
divided by the vaulting-piers into seven bays, but
only the central bay (which is open to the quire
for its whole height) corresponds in width with
the bay opposite. The two bays next to the
central bay are governed by the width of the
quire aisles, which are also open to the chapel
for their whole height, and exceed the width of
the opposite bays by about one-half. Of the
two remaining bays on either side, which project
transeptally beyond the body of the church,
those at the extreme north and south are spaced
so as to correspond very nearly with those
opposite, and consequently the bays next the
quire aisles are very narrow. The only windows
on this side are a skewed lancet, now blocked, in
the lower stage of each of the two end bays, and
a window in the clearstory of each of the bays
formed by the ends of the quire aisles, which
preserve the horizontal division of the quire
into triforium and clearstory. As the stringcourse dividing the two stages of the rest of the
chapel is a little above the general triforium level,
the triforium of the quire is correspondingly
raised to face the chapel, so that no interruption
occurs in the main horizontal division, the
clearstory merely forming an additional subdivision of the upper stage in these bays. In
each of the bays at the extreme north and south,
next to the vaulting-pier in the angle is a doorway to the vice-turret, with a well-moulded
two-centred head springing from jamb shafts
with foliage capitals. Each of these doorways is
set in a length of plain ashlar, and between it and
the first of the western vaulting-piers is a single
bay of arcading. The skewed lancets in the lower
stage of the end bays are of the same height as
the lancets in the opposite wall and each has a
two-centred rear-arch inclosed by a label, and
shafted jambs of two orders. These windows
were placed out of the centre of the bays in order
to clear the vice-turrets, and the outer jamb in
each case is pierced by a short extension of the
lower wall-passage, which, however, is not continued beyond the window. These blocked
openings are alike in every respect and have
external jamb shafts and hood moulds. The
upper stage of the end bays is occupied in each
case by a tall recess, across the top of which is
carried the wall-passage leading from the vice
at the angle to the eastern compartment of the
quire clearstory. Each of these recesses has a
moulded head of two orders, the outer twocentred, and the inner of trefoil form; the
outer order springs from attached jamb shafts
with foliage capitals and moulded bases, and the
inner order from capitals of the same type
supported by grotesque heads. The vaultingpiers which divide these bays from the bays
next the quire aisles are similar to their opposite
eastern piers, but the capitals of these and the
other western piers, in which human and animal
forms appear among the foliage, show that
this side of the chapel was the last to be completed. Each of the narrow bays next the quire
aisles contains a recess in the upper stage like
those in the end bays, with the clearstory passage carried across the top in a similar manner;
in the lower stage, above the sill-string, is a tall
shallow blank recess with a moulded trefoil
head and label and shafted jambs of two orders,
the outer shafts being of marble, below which
are two narrow bays of arcading. The vaultingpiers next the quire aisles are smaller than their
opposite piers, having only three marble shafts.
Above the arches to the quire aisles, which
occupy the whole of the lower stage of the bays
formed by the ends of the aisles, are triplearched openings to the eastern compartment of
the quire triforium. The arches of these
triforium openings are moulded and enriched
and are supported by shafts with foliage capitals
and moulded bases. The clearstory window in
the bay on the north is of three lights with
intersecting tracery in a two-centred head, and
has an inner system of tracery like that of the
great north window with which it must be
nearly contemporary. The clearstory window in
the southern bay is of two lancet lights with
twin rear-arches enriched with dog-tooth
ornament, which spring from shafts with foliage
capitals attached to the jambs and are received
upon a central cluster of filleted shafts with
plain bell-capitals connected to the front of the
window by through-stones. The arches to the
quire aisles, which are two-centred and very
richly moulded, have their outer orders stilted
and one of each pair of responds is formed by a
portion of one of the great piers which terminate
the side walls of the quire.
Besides the diagonals of the adjacent vaults
the great piers carry the transverse arch dividing
the quire vault from the central compartment
of the chapel vault, and receive the transverse
arches of the latter. In addition to these functions they also form the responds of the easternmost arches of the quire arcades, as well as the
inner responds of the arches from the chapel
to the quire just described. They are of a
complicated polygonal plan with attached stone
shafts at the angles and a marble detached
shaft in the middle of each face having a slight
hollow behind in which it is partly recessed.
The piers are without annulets and the shafts
have capitals richly carved with foliage and
grotesques. The feretory platform, which projects into the chapel between the piers, is in
reality an extension of the sanctuary floor of
the quire, and the moulded bases of the three
shafts on the inner face of each great pier
carrying the transverse arch between quire and
chapel stand upon it, but the shafts between
this point and the eastern and western apices
of the pier, the limit to which the platform
extends on either side, rise from the floor
without bases. The evidence of change in design
during the early stages of the building of these
piers, already referred to, was furnished in
1895, when excavations were made at the foot
of the north pier in order to give access to the
still existing walls of the old apse of the quire.
The changes took place before the piers had
been carried above the level of the present
platform, and the bases of the pier then uncovered have been left exposed. A little above
the chapel floor, which below the platform is
raised a step, the plinth as a whole has a moulded
base, on which stand water-holding bases for
both attached stone shafts and detached marble
shafts; the original intention appears to have
been to make the feretory platform narrower in
order to leave the foot of the piers clear. When,
however, the piers had been carried up higher,
it seems to have been determined to discard
the detached marble shafts, but on its being
finally decided to complete the platform in its
present form, the detached shafts were introduced. The pavement of the platform appears
to be that of the apse (which occupied its site)
reset and made out from semicircular to rectangular form with new stone, the old curvedoutline stones of the original pavement being
retained approximately in their original positions.
The transverse arch between quire and chapel
is of three elaborately moulded orders towards
the east, the intermediate order being enriched
with dog-tooth ornament.
The setting out of the east wall of the chapel
was no doubt inspired by the design of the Nine
Altars at Fountains, begun a few years before.
There, however, the comparative narrowness of
the quire aisles made it possible to arrange the
western bays to match the eastern bays, but at
Durham the irregular distribution of the points
of support presented a problem in vaulting
which has only been solved by the most ingenious compromise. The square central bay
of course offered no particular difficulty, but
had the three bays on either side been vaulted
in as many narrow quadripartite compartments
of differing sizes and irregular shapes, the effect
would have been awkward in the extreme. The
pairs of bays adjoining the central bay were
therefore each grouped into one nearly rectangular sexpartite compartment, the transverse
rib, owing to the vaulting-piers not being opposite to one another, passing very much to the
side of the centre of the compartment. Of the
two remaining bays, the northernmost was
covered by a quadripartite vault, while the
southernmost bay, having five points of support, was covered by a vault of quinquepartite
form. The stability of the vaulting is amply
provided for, the four angle turrets and the
buttresses which counteract the thrusts on the
eastern and southern vaulting-piers being proportioned to their varying loads. On the west,
the walls of the quire provide sufficient abutment for the piers of the central bay, and short
buttresses are erected on the walls of the quire
aisles to abut the piers which carry the transverse ribs of the sexpartite compartments. The
two remaining piers are left without further
abutment than the great thickness of the
walls provides, as being sufficiently close to
the western angle turrets. The vault of the
central bay is constructed on a modification of
the quadripartite principle, having divergent
twin diagonals forming a four-pointed star about
a central circular opening or eye-hole. The
transverse arches are of two orders, the outer
order has dog-tooth enrichment, and the ribs
have foliage set at intervals in the hollows
flanking their central rolls. The eye-hole is
surrounded by a heavy moulding sculptured
with figures of the four Evangelists, and upon
this moulding the ribs converge in pairs. The
sexpartite vaults also have large eye-holes with
richly sculptured mouldings. (fn. 12) The diagonal
ribs are enriched like those of the vault of the
central bay, and the skewed transverses, which
pass to the side of the eye-holes, are of two
orders, the outer enriched with the dog-tooth.
The northernmost and southernmost compartments of vaulting have diagonal ribs of the same
character, but the transverses are of slighter
proportions than those separating the sexpartite
compartments from the central compartment.
The nine altars placed along the east wall are
enumerated in Rites. In the middle bay was
the altar of St. Cuthbert and St. Bede, flanked
by those of St. Martin on the north and St.
Oswald and St. Lawrence on the south. In the
three northern bays were the altars of St.
Michael, St. Aidan and St. Helen, and St. Peter
and St. Paul. The three southern bays contained the altars of St. Thomas of Canterbury
and St. Katherine, St. John Baptist and St.
Margaret, and St. Andrew and St. Mary Magdalene. 'Between every altar (was) a uerye
faire and large partition of wainscott all uarnished ouer, wth fine branches & flowers and
other imagerye most finely and artificially pictured and guilted, conteyninge the severall
lockers or ambers for the safe keepinge of the
uestments and ornaments belonginge to euerye
altar,' while above the altars were 'couers of
wainscote … in uerye decent and comely
forme.' (fn. 13)
At the north end of the chapel is the white
marble monument of Bishop William Van
Mildert (d. 1836), which stands over his tomb.
It represents him seated, holding a book, and
is the work of John Gibson, R.A. The tomb
of Bishop Anthony Bek (d. 1311) is close by,
but is marked only by a blue slab, with a modern
inscription. (fn. 14) No trace of the monument of
Bishop Richard de Bury (d. 1345) remains, but
a marble slab with canopied figure in relief was
placed in 1903 at the south end of the chapel
over the place of his burial. There are other
more modern grave slabs and wall tablets.
The floor of the chapel was newly flagged in
1825. The altar pace along the east side is
raised two steps, with a return at the north end.
The exterior of the chapel follows the general
lines of its construction with gables north and
south and a smaller one in the middle of the
east elevation, behind the parapet, over the
wheel window. The great north-east and
south-east buttresses, square on plan, become
octagonal at the line of the sills of the upper
windows and terminate in lofty pinnacles. The
two major buttresses on the east elevation have
smaller pinnacles set back behind gabled heads,
and the intermediate buttresses terminate in
gablets at the line of the parapet. The character
of the original design of the east front was a
good deal changed at the time of the early
19th-century restoration, many features being
then destroyed and others introduced. Wyatt
removed the canopied niches of the major
buttresses containing the statues of William
of St. Calais and Ranulf Flambard mentioned
in Rites, (fn. 15) and the wall surface suffered in the
general paring down process. The north pinnacles (fn. 16) and the windows in the east gable
lighting the roof space date from this period.
All the lower windows have double chamfered
jambs and moulded heads and the upper have
single jamb shafts and labels. In the middle
bay, between the major buttresses, the slender
intermediate buttresses between the lancets are
carried up to support an arcade of three plain
arches, thus advancing the surface of the wall
immediately below the wheel window and
making the lancets appear to be deeply
recessed. The wheel window is moulded all
round and has Wyatt's Gothic ornament in the
spandrels. Horizontally the east elevation is
divided at mid-height by a string-course, and
there is a string also at the level of the sills of
the lower windows. On one of the corner stones
of the major buttress south of the middle bay
is cut in 13th-century characters 'Posuit hanc
petram Thomas Moises,' a record of the name
of one of the masons engaged in the work. (fn. 17)
The north gable has an open arcade of five
trefoiled moulded arches on grouped shafts
with moulded capitals and bases, standing on a
string above the great window. Over this in
the apex of the gable are three smaller trefoiled
arches with canopies. (fn. 18) The south gable is
entirely filled by an ascending arcade of seven
moulded arches, three alternate openings of
which are pierced and glazed, lighting the roof
space. In a recess on the face of the north-west
turret is the famous carving representing the
legend of the Dun Cow. The original sculpture
had fallen into decay before 1795 and was in
consequence replaced by the present cow and
milkmaids of frankly modern character. (fn. 19)
The platform of ST. CUTHBERT'S FERETORY is 6 ft. above the floor of the chapel of
the Nine Altars, into which it projects some
10 ft. It is separated from the quire by the
screen of the high altar and is 37 ft. long from
north to south by 23 ft. in width. It has a low
parapet with modern moulded coping and its
north and south sides are plain, but the longer
east face has an arcade of eleven boldly moulded
semicircular arches springing from shafts with
moulded capitals and bases, all work of the
latest date of the chapel. Originally the platform was enclosed by a grille upon which were
'very fine candlesticks of iron' which had lights
set in them before day 'so that the monks could
see to read on their books in the Nine Altars
when they said mass.' (fn. 20) The shrine was destroyed shortly after the surrender of the convent, but the precise date is not known. The
oak screen erected on three sides of the platform in the 17th century was removed in 1844: (fn. 21)
it is shown in Billings' drawing engraved the
year before, and a portion of it, four bays in
length, is now in the University Library. (fn. 22)
The tomb of St. Cuthbert was opened in 1827,
and again in 1899: its contents have already
been described. (fn. 23) The Purbeck marble ground
course of the substructure of the shrine was
recovered from the grave at the latter date and
is now placed on the platform around the blue
marble slab that marks the position of the
saint's burial place. (fn. 24) The feretory is thus
described in Rites:—'Next to theise 9 altars
was the goodly monument of St. Cuthbert
adioyninge to the quire and the high altar on
the west end, reachinge toward the 9 altars on
the east, and toward the north and south containinge the breadth of the quire in quadrant (fn. 25)
form, in the midst whereof his sacred shrine was
exalted with most curious workmanshipp of fine
and costly marble all limned and guilted with
gold, hauinge foure seates or places conuenient
under the shrine for the pilgrims … sittinge
on theire knees to leane and rest on, in time of
their deuout offeringes and feruent prayers to
God and holy St. Cuthbert.' The shrine had
an elaborate cover ' of Wainescott' which besides
other enrichments was 'all gilded over, and of
eyther side was painted fower lively Images
curious to ye beholders, and on the East End
was painted the picture of or Savior sittinge on
a Rainebowe to give Judgmt … and on the
West end of itt was ye picture of or Lady &
Savior on her knee …' Elaborate arrangements were made for lifting the cover, and the
main suspension rope was hung with silver bells.
The hole into which the pulley was fixed is still
visible in the shell of the vault just to the east
of the transverse arch between quire and chapel.
The magnificent stone reredos, known as the
NEVILLE SCREEN, divides the sanctuary from
the feretory. It is placed a little to the east of
the centre of the easternmost bay of the quire
and is described in Rites as being 'all of
french peere uerye curiously wrought both of
the inside and the outside (i.e. on the east and
west faces) with faire images of Alabaster …
the sd curious workmanshipp of french peere or
Laordose reachinge in height almost to the middle
vault (i.e. the aisle vaults) and containinge the
breadth of the quire in lengthe.' The 'french
peere' or free-stone of which it is constructed
is a variety of clunch, but where quarried it is
difficult to say. The 'faire images of Alabaster'
have long disappeared, but otherwise the structure remains practically intact, with the four
contemporary sedilia on either side, which are
placed under the adjacent arches of the quire
arcades, and separate the sanctuary from the
aisles. The screen is divided into nine bays by
slender uprights of rectangular plan with buttressed angles, and the lower part, which is
solid, is pierced by two doorways opening into
the feretory, while the whole of the upper portion, extending from a little above the heads of
the doorways to the 'middle vault,' is occupied
by open tabernacles for images placed between
the uprights. The tabernacles in the central
bay and the alternate bays on either side are
arranged in two diminishing stages with octagonal canopies to each stage, those of the upper
stage, which rise clear of the uprights between
the bays, being surmounted in addition by open
octagonal lanterns with crocketed spirelets.
The tabernacles in the intermediate bays are of
one stage only, and have hexagonal canopies
crowned by hexagonal lanterns of the same
character as those of the octagonal tabernacles.
The western projecting angles of the canopies
are unsupported, leaving the tabernacles entirely
open towards the quire, but on the side towards
the feretory they are supported by slender
buttressed uprights or mullions, those of the
octagonal tabernacles rising from the buttressed
angles of three-sided pedestals projecting from
the lower portion of the screen. The canopies
and lanterns throughout have cinquefoiled
arches, gabled and crocketed, in each face, and
each tabernacle contains a richly panelled
pedestal for an image, while all the minute
buttress work is elaborately finished with
gables, crockets and pinnacles. The dividing
uprights, which, as will be clear from the
foregoing description, do not rise higher than
the lower tier of tabernacles, each contain four
tiers of small niches with pedestals and cinquefoiled heads on both faces, and are crowned by
crocketed and finialled pinnacles. On the
quire side the three middle bays of the solid
lower portion of the screen are without projections, to allow for the High Altar to be placed
against it. Below the two octagonal tabernacles
on either side of the three altar bays are richly
panelled three-sided pedestals rising from the
floor to the base of the tabernacles, while below
the intermediate hexagonal tabernacles are the
two doorways to the feretory, which have cinquefoiled and subfoliated two-centred heads with
spandrels containing shields with the Neville
saltire in quatrefoils. On the side towards the
feretory the heads of the doorways are of the same
form, but are uncusped. Beneath each of the other
hexagonal tabernacles on this side are two small
niches with pedestals and cinquefoiled heads,
ranging with the lowermost of the niches in the
uprights, and the pedestals beneath the octagonal tabernacles have similar niches in their
east faces. The sedilia are treated in the same
style. The four seats in each range are separated from each other by slender buttressed
piers supporting octagonal canopies with gabledcinquefoiled arches in each face, and the canopies
are surmounted by tall open tabernacles of the
same plan, crowned by crocketed and finialled
spirelets.
St. Calais' QUIRE consisted of the two
aisled double bays which still exist, a single bay
to the east of the double bays, and beyond this
the apse. The aisles originally terminated on
either side of the single bay in small apses,
which appear by the foundations discovered to
have been internal only, their external eastern
terminations having been rectangular. In
the 13th century the apse was demolished,
and the adjacent single bay, with the apsidal
easternmost bays of the aisles, was rebuilt to join
up with the new work of the Nine Altars. Between the double bays are shafted responds of
two orders rising from the floor, which were
evidently designed to carry a semicircular
transverse arch of two orders, like those in the
transepts. The shafts of the responds, like all
the other attached shafts, are St. Calais' work,
of half-round section with cushion capitals and
moulded bases consisting of flat, slightly channelled, splays. Each respond has a square plinth
common to its three shafts, with a larger subplinth below, the off-set being finished with a
plain chamfer, but the westernmost shafts on
both sides have been cut away for the stalling.
The quire is bounded on the west by the eastern
arch of the crossing, which is of three orders
towards the east, but of only two towards the
west. The innermost order has hollow-chamfered edges and a large half-round on the soffit,
the next order has a plain roll on each edge,
while the third order on the east face is
unmoulded. The responds form part of the
eastern piers of the crossing, which may be
described as consisting of shafted responds
of two orders on each cardinal face, with
single attached shafts between, the whole
number of attached shafts amounting to sixteen.
The responds of two orders on the inner north
and south faces of the piers, together with the
single shafts adjoining on the east, suffice to
carry the orders of the arch, the answering
single shafts on the west being carried up the
internal angles of the tower. The shafts are of
the same detail as those of the responds of the
main transverse, and rest on a plinth of the same
height, but of different detail, the chamfered
off-set being replaced by a projecting band
with a quirked chamfer on its upper and lower
edges. In both cases it may be noted that the
central shaft of each group of three is larger than
the flanking shafts and has a capital of correspondingly greater size. There are clear indications that the division of sanctuary and quire
was marked by an arch of the same type as the
eastern arch of the crossing (probably of three
orders on both faces) between the single bay
next the apse and the adjoining double bay;
the piers between these bays still remain, but
the shafted responds, which must have corresponded with those of the eastern arch of the
crossing, were cut away in the 13th century,
when the junction between the new work and
the old was effected. Each of the original double
bays has on either side, opening to the aisles, a
pair of semicircular arches supported by a
central cylindrical pier of massive proportions,
and shafted responds against the main piers.
The arches are of two orders moulded with
hollows and angle-rolls, the inner orders having
in addition a large roll on the soffit. The west
responds of the arcade are formed by the
three attached shafts on the east face of each
crossing-pier, which have cushion capitals and
moulded bases like those of the shafts on the
inner faces of the piers from which the eastern
arch of the crossing springs. The responds
against the other main piers are designed to
correspond, but the plinths of the responds
in the eastern bay follow the pattern of those
of the responds of the central transverse
already described. As the ground-stages of
the piers between the double bays are made
of the same length on plan from east to west as
the crossing-piers, though the shafted responds
of the central transverse attached to them have
one order less than those of the eastern arch of
the crossing, short spaces of blank wall interrupt
the continuity of the suites of shafts. The
intermediate piers are not complete cylinders,
for shafted responds of two orders, from which
spring the transverses of the aisle vaults, are
attached to their aisle sides. The drum of the
cylindrical portion of each pier is ornamented
with left-handed spiral fluting, and the main
capital, the plan of which is composed of five
sides of an octagon (the remaining sides being
merged in the capitals of the shafts of the
responds of the aisle transverses), is of cushion
type, approximating to the scalloped form. The
abacus is continuous round the whole pier, which
stands on a base and plinth corresponding to
those of the responds against the main piers. The
walls are set back 11 in. at the level of the triforium sill, which is marked by a plain chamfered
string-course, and upon the set-off thus formed
stand short vaulting-shafts; these consist of
single attached shafts placed in the nooks formed
by the setting back of the face of the wall next
the shafts on the main piers, and of triple shafts
in the centre of each bay over the minor or
cylindrical piers. All have cushion capitals
and moulded bases standing on square plinths,
but the capitals of the eastern nook-shaft and
the triple shafts in the east double bay are
carved with foliage similar to that of the
13th-century capitals adjoining, while retaining generally their old form. As the nookshafts, which were designed to receive the
diagonals of the vault, were necessarily placed
next the responds of the main transverses
without regard to their unequal length from
east to west, the western nook-shafts of the
western double bay are exactly above the shafts
of the outer orders of the westernmost arches of
the arcades, while the eastern nook-shafts are
a little to the east of the corresponding responds
beneath. The same relative positions of the
nook-shafts are repeated in the eastern bay, the
eastern nook-shafts answering exactly in position
to the western nook-shafts of the western bay,
a circumstance which can only be explained by
the former existence to the eastward of shafted
responds of the same number of orders as those
of the eastern arch of the crossing. In each of
the vertical subdivisions formed by the vaulting
shafts is an opening to the triforium with a clearstory window above it. The triforium openings
are double, each having a pair of semicircular
arches, with hollow-chamfered edges and a
half-round on the soffit, contained under an
outer inclosing arch of the same form moulded
with a quirked angle-roll below a hollow. Both
orders spring from half-shafts attached to the
jambs, and the inner pair of arches rest in the
centre upon a circular shaft of the same detail
as the jamb shafts. The triforium is lighted
by pairs of small semicircular-headed lights in
the outer walls of the aisles. There is no clearstory passage; the windows in this stage have
plain internal openings with semicircular heads
and stepped sills.
The double bays were evidently each designed
to carry two compartments of quadripartite
vaulting, the middle shafts of the groups of
three vaulting-shafts placed over the cylindrical
piers of the arcades supporting a transverse rib,
while the flanking shafts and the nook-shafts
received the diagonals. (fn. 26) The thrusts of the
vault were counteracted at the points of
support by semicircular arches which still span
the triforium beneath the aisle roof, and by
broad pilasters on the outer wall. In the
western double bay, which is a little shorter
than the eastern, the arches of the arcades
next the crossing-piers are considerably narrower
than the eastern arches, and consequently, as the
triple vaulting-shafts are placed exactly over the
cylindrical piers of the arcades, the western
compartment of the double vault of this bay
must have been, as it still is, much narrower
than the eastern compartment. Even had both
bays been subdivided equally with respect to
the ground-stage, as is the case in the eastern
bay, the compartments of the vaults next the
central main transverse would still have been
slightly wider than the other compartments,
owing to the greater width from east to west
of the eastern arch of the crossing and the former
great sanctuary arch.
The remains of the apse, which were uncovered in 1895, show that an interlacing
arcade like that which runs round the outer
walls of the original portions of the church
occupied the lower part of the ground-stage,
and that there were two vaulting-responds
similar to those of the central transverse of
the surviving portion of the quire. The groundstage of the original single bay next the apse
must have been blank, as it was flanked by the
eastern apses of the aisles. The interlacing
arcades were most likely continued from the
apse along the foot of the walls, and the triforium and clearstory probably repeated the
design of each subdivision of the upper stages
of the double bays. The vault was almost
certainly a single quadripartite compartment
carried by triforium shafts, and it was probably
separated by a transverse arch of two orders
from that of the apse.
The 13th-century rebuilding entailed the
demolition of all this bay except the substance
of the piers which divided it from the original
double bays. Single arches open to the easternmost bays of the aisles, which were also rebuilt
to join up with the new eastern transept. These
arches are of the same type as those which open
from the east end of the aisles into the Nine
Altars. They are each of three richly moulded
orders, the outer order stilted, and the intermediate order ornamented with the dog-tooth.
Their western responds are the counterpart of
the eastern responds, which form part of the
great piers terminating the side walls of the
quire. The labels are enriched with knobs of
foliage and touch the enriched string-courses
which mark the sill of the triforium. The walls
are not set back above the ground-stage as in
the original western bays. The triforium openings are nearly alike on both sides; each consists
of three two-centred drop arches with dog-tooth
enrichment inclosed by a nearly semicircular
arch with an enriched label and headstops. The
subsidiary arches spring from circular shafts
with foliage capitals and moulded bases, the
shafts at the responds being flanked by smaller
detached shafts with similar capitals and bases.
Outside these again on both quire and triforium
faces are slender marble shafts with capitals and
bases of the same character, those towards the
quire carrying the inclosing arch. In the tympanum above the subsidiary arches are two
circular quatrefoiled panels, those of the
northern triforium opening being filled with
rich foliation, while those of the southern opening
are plain; below these panels, immediately over
the intersections of the arches, are richly carved
bosses of foliage. The abaci of the jamb shafts
of the northern opening are continued as string
courses to the extremities of the bay, and in
both cases the back of the wall is carried by a
pair of two-centred arches springing from a
central shaft, circular on the north and octagonal on the south. The clearstory string is
like that of the triforium. The clearstory has
on either side a pair of pointed windows, each
of two uncusped lights, those on the north
having a plain circle in the head; the twin reararches, which are enriched with the dog-tooth,
spring from marble nook shafts with foliage
capitals and moulded bases flanked by stone
shaft-rolls round which the main capitals are
continued, and are received upon short stone
shaft-rolls with similar capitals attached to the
central pier, the lower part of which is cut away
for the wall-passage and rests upon an isolated
cluster of marble shafts with elaborately carved
capitals and moulded bases of the same type as
those of the nook shafts. The wall-passage is
entered from the western clearstory of the Nine
Altars, and is not continued westward beyond
this bay. The openings in the jambs have
shouldered heads like those of the wall-passage
openings in the Nine Altars, and the lintel
supporting the upper part of the central pier
has hollow-chamfered edges filled with carved
ornament.
As has been pointed out above, the piers
between this bay and the next belong mainly
to St. Calais' work, but their faces have been
made flush with the adjacent walling by the
cutting away of the shafted responds of the
former sanctuary arch. The junction of the
old and new work is clearly shown by the changes
in the masonry which occur at this point, the
small and comparatively irregular coursing of
the 13th-century builders giving place to
the still more irregular 'making good' of the
facing of the truncated piers, which is in turn
succeeded by the regularly-coursed ashlar of the
original bays. The flush surface of each pier is
masked by a tall arcade of three trefoiled arches,
the gabled canopies of which extend to the silllevel of the triforium, while the shafts upon
which they are carried rest on carved corbels
placed at a distance from the sanctuary floor
equal to about one-third of the whole height
from the floor to the triforium. The shafts,
which are alternately of stone and marble, are
banded, and have capitals richly carved with
foliage, birds and grotesques; the arches are
moulded with a deep hollow filled with rich
sculpture, and the gabled canopies are crowned
with rich finials and crocketed with foliage in
which occur human figures in miniature niches
and birds of a most naturalistic type. The
corbels of the shafts are treated in the same
style of elaboration, being carved with human
and grotesque forms. Below this arcade is a
band of arcaded panelling consisting of six
trefoiled arches springing from shafts with plain
capitals and inclosed within a square containing
label, and between the panelling and the floor
is an aumbry with double doors. The triforium string-course is stepped upwards as it
crosses the pier, clearing the canopies, and is
again dropped to join the plain string-course of
the original bays. (fn. 27) Immediately above the
raised portion of the string-course is the richly
carved corbel upon which the short triple shafts
of the present easternmost transverse are carried.
These consist of a central stone shaft flanked by
two slighter marble shafts, all having elaborately
sculptured capitals.
The present high vault of the quire belongs
to the period of the 13th-century reconstruction.
The irregularity which St. Calais' method of
spacing must have entailed in the sizes of the
compartments of the original high vault has
already been pointed out.
The entire rebuilding of the single bay next
the apse, however, and the removal of the great
sanctuary arch by which it was separated from
the double bays, rendered it possible approximately to equalise all the compartments except
the westernmost. The new transverse arches,
which are of the two-centred form, were all made
slighter and of equal size, the double compartment system being abandoned in favour of a
series of single quadripartite compartments, and
as it was necessary to keep the crown of the
vault as nearly as possible at the old level, the
centres of those transverses which are carried
by the old points of support are dropped below
their springing. In consequence of this rearrangement of the vault, only the middle
shafts of the responds of the old transverses
of two orders between the double bays are
required to carry the new transverses at this
point, and the shafts on either side, which
carried the outer order of the old transverses,
now receive the diagonals. The short flankingshafts rising from the triforium sill upon which
the old diagonals were received, being thus
rendered useless for their original purpose, were
utilised to support slender marble shafts with
foliated capitals from which the present stilted
wall-ribs spring. The triple attached shafts
standing upon the triforium sill in the middle
of each bay received as before the transverses
and diagonals of the vault, and the vaulting
shafts next the responds of the eastern arch of
the crossing, which were necessarily left untouched, still continued to discharge their
original functions, the slender shafts of the
wall-ribs being supported by carved corbels.
In the case of the transverse between the new
and the old work, however, which is placed at
about the centre line of the former sanctuary
arch, the cutting away of the original shafted
responds left the shafts of the old diagonals
isolated some distance westwards from the
triple corbelled shafts provided for the new
transverse and diagonals, and consequently
useless for the direct support of the wall-ribs
of this compartment. Marble shafts extending
to the shell of the vault, like those of the wall-ribs
of the other compartments, are, however, placed
upon their capitals, and the space intervening
between them and the eastern spring of the
vault is occupied on both north and south sides
by trefoiled gables forming canopies to small
figures on sculptured brackets. These canopies
die into the vault on the east and thus mask the
springing of the wall-ribs, while on the west they
rest on small marble shafts supported by carved
corbels placed immediately to the east of the
capitals of the shafts of the old diagonals. The
transverse arches of the vault are like those of
the vault of the Nine Altars, being each of two
orders, the inner order moulded with filleted
rolls, and the outer order enriched with dogtooth ornament. The diagonals are moulded with
a central filleted roll with hollows on either side
filled with dog-tooth ornament set at intervals.
The easternmost compartment has in addition
a transverse ridge-rib terminated on the north
by a seated figure flanked by lizard-like monsters,
and on the south by an angel; the wall-ribs
of this compartment spring from richly carved
corbels. The central bosses of the whole vault
are very elaborately sculptured; that of the
middle compartment has a figure of the Agnus
Dei, while the boss of the westernmost compartment appears to represent Abraham receiving
the souls of the saved into Heaven.
The treatment of the remodelled easternmost
bays is nearly alike in both QUIRE AISLES.
Each has seven bays of wall-arcading of the
same type as that of the Nine Altars, and is
lighted by an original late 13th-century window
with restored four-light tracery and a twocentred rear-arch of two orders with dog-tooth
enrichment, springing from twin jamb shafts
with foliated capitals, the inner shafts being of
marble and the outer shafts of stone. These
windows are placed close against the responds
bounding the bays on the west, and the outer
of the western jamb shafts is utilised in each
case to carry one of the diagonals of the vault,
into which the outer order of the rear-arch dies.
The wall-arcade of the bay on the north has no
bounding string-course above it, and the
quatrefoils over the intersections of the archmouldings are omitted in the four bays beneath
the window, the sill of which is splayed downwards nearly to the tops of the labels of the
arcade, and finished with a projecting moulding
on the edge. The sill of the corresponding
window of the south aisle is not splayed so far
downwards, and the string-course above the
arcade is confined to the four western bays,
stopping at this point upon a foliated boss.
The shafts of the second bay from the west are
cut short and rest upon the ogee-shaped label
of an inserted 14th-century doorway, now
blocked. The quadripartite vaults have richly
sculptured central bosses, and the ribs are of
the same character as those of the high vault.
The transverse arches dividing these bays from
the western bays are of the original work of
St. Calais. They are each of two semicircular
moulded orders, and, as has been explained
above, marked the commencement of the
original apses. The orders are moulded with
rolls and hollows and the responds have
attached half-shafts with cushion capitals and
moulded bases to each order. The plinths and
sub-plinths are like those of the eastern quire
piers, and are of the same height. Immediately to the west of the responds of the
transverses are single attached half-shafts for
the diagonals of the vaults, those on the quire
sides of the aisles connecting the responds of
the transverses and those of the adjoining arches
of the quire arcades into continuous suites of
shafts. The four remaining bays of each aisle,
which, being spaced by the centre-lines of the
quire, are of unequal length, are divided from
each other by transverses of a single order,
springing from the middle shafts of triple
shafted responds like those of the easternmost
transverses, the flanking shafts receiving the
diagonals. The plinths and sub-plinths follow
the design of those of the quire piers to which
they are severally adjacent. The westernmost
bays open north and south to the transept
aisles; the lower portions of the outer walls of
the other bays are occupied by interlacing
arcades, the longer bays having six bays of arcading, and the shorter bays five. These arcades,
which, as stated above, are continued round the
outer walls of the whole of the original church,
though interrupted in many places by later
insertions, stand upon a sub-plinth formed by
a continuation of that of the responds of the
transverses; they consist of interlacing semicircular arches moulded with edge-rolls and shallow
hollows and springing from coupled shafts with
cushion and scalloped capitals having an abacus
common to each pair and moulded bases standing
on square plinths above the sub-plinth. The
present windows of the north aisle were originally
inserted in the last half of the 14th century, but
they were all renewed in 1848, their tracery being
for the most part copied from windows to be
found in the churches of Sleaford and Holbeach
in Lincolnshire and Boughton Aluph in Kent.
Their internal sills are lower than those of
St. Calais' windows, the string-course marking
the sill-level of which has been lowered about
9 in. in the second and third bays, and has been
replaced by a 14th-century string-course in the
fourth bay. In each bay is a stone bench; that
in the third bay opposite the site of Bishop
Skirlaw's altar is of the late 14th or early 15th
century, and the front has multifoiled circular
panels containing Skirlaw's shield of arms
alternating with smaller cinquefoil-headed
panels. The bench in the second bay is quite
plain, while that in the fourth bay has a projecting moulding with nail-head enrichment and
is stopped by a doorway formerly leading to the
Sacrist's Exchequer, or later Song School. (fn. 28)
The windows of the south aisle are also 14th-century insertions. They are each of four lights
with flowing tracery in a two-centred head,
and are said to have been 'restored as they were
found' in 1842. The original sill-string has
been replaced by a 14th-century sill-string. In
the third bay is a plain stone bench. The wallarcade in the fourth bay has been partly cut
away for the insertion of two doorways; the
eastern, which is of the 13th century and
has a trefoiled head and shafted jambs, is the
'reuestrye' doorway of Rites, while the
western doorway, a 14th-century insertion, may
perhaps have opened to stairs to the 'Chamber'
over the west end of the vestry. The ribs of the
quadripartite vaults which cover each bay of the
original portions of the aisles are moulded with
hollow-chamfered edges and have half-rounds on
their soffits.
Traces of the fittings of the aisles described
in Rites can still be seen in the stonework.
In the easternmost bay of the north aisle was
the loft or 'porch' called the 'Anchoridge.'
In it was 'an altar for a monke to say dayly
masse beinge in antient time inhabited with an
Anchorite, wherunto the Pretors (priors) were
wont much to frequent both for the excellency
of the place as also to heare the masse standinge
so conveniently unto the high altar … the
entrance to this porch or Anchoridge was upp
a paire of faire staires adioyninge to the north
dore of St. Cuthbert's feretorie, under the wch
staires the pascall did lye… .' The fifth and
westernmost bay of the aisle, which opens into
the eastern aisle of the north transept, was
occupied by a 'porch … hauinge in it an
altar and the rood or picture of our sauiour,
wch altar and roode was much frequented in
deuotion of Dtr Swallwell sometime monke of
Durham… .' In the easternmost bay of the
south aisle 'adioyninge to the pillar next St.
Cuthberts Feretorie, next the Quire door on
the south side there was a most fair Roode or
picture of our Saviour, called the black rood of
Scotland with the picture of Mary and John
being brought out of holy rood house in Scotland
by King David Bruce, and was wonne at the
battle of Durham with the picture of our Lady
on the one side of our Saviour and the picture
of St. John on the other side, the which Rood
and pictures were all three very richly wrought
in silver, the which were all smoked black over,
and on every one of their heads, a Crowne of
pure bett gold of goldsmithes work… .' The
rood was attached to 'fine Wainscot work …
redd Varnished over very finely, and all sett
full of starres of Lead, every starre finely guilted
over with gold… .'
On the south side of the quire, between the
piers of the western arch of the east double bay,
is the MONUMENT OF BISHOP HATFIELD
(d. 1381), with the great throne of stone above
it erected by the bishop during his lifetime.
The alabaster effigy of the bishop lies on a high
table tomb with moulded plinth and arcaded
sides, the canopy of which forms the ground
story of the throne. This is an elaborate
piece of work, open to the north and south by
foliated segmental arches, on each side of which
are trefoiled niches containing brackets for
statues, flanked by narrow buttresses of two
stages terminating in pinnacles. The arches
are richly moulded and have large shields with
the bishop's arms in the spandrels; the arms
also occur on smaller shields all over the monument, the ground work of which is of rich diaper.
The canopy has a lierne vaulted roof with
moulded ribs, the intersections of which have
bosses of sculptured foliage, and on the walls
at the east and west ends are the remains of
paintings representing in each case two angels. (fn. 29)
A flight of steps on the east side leads from the
quire to the throne, which is a kind of pulpitum
or gallery containing five seats, for the bishop
and his chaplains. The fronts of the seats
have quatrefoil panelling and that of the bishop
projects in hexagonal form. This middle seat
has above it a hexagonal niche with canopy of
rich design, and above this again is another
canopied niche rising to a considerable height.
The backs of the other seats are panelled in the
lower part, and above is open tracery work
with canopied niches for statues flanking the
central opening at a lower level. The back
of the throne thus forms an elaborate piece of
stone tabernacle work in five bays divided by
slender pinnacled buttresses. The sloping wall
of the staircase is arcaded with trefoiled arches
in which are brackets for statues, but the iron
handrail is modern. The throne was restored
about 1700 (fn. 30) by Bishop Crewe, but the present
painted wooden front, which takes the place
of the original one of stone, is nearly a century
later. The whole monument was originally
richly gilded and coloured and still retains
much of its colouring. (fn. 31)
In the middle of the quire in front of the
altar steps is the great blue marble slab which
covered the GRAVE OF BISHOP LEWIS
BEAUMONT (d. 1333). It was discovered
beneath the pavement in 1848 when the east
portion of the floor of the quire was lowered
to the level of the west section and the steps
moved nearer the altar. The slab, now in two
pieces, measures 15 ft. 10 in. by 9 ft. 7 in., and
formerly bore a large brass, the matrix for which
alone remains. It is described in Rites as 'a
most curious and sumptuous marble stone …
adorned with most excellent workmanshipp of
brasse, wherein [the bishop] was most excellently
and lively pictured, as he was accustomed to
singe or say mass, with his mitre on his head and
his crosier's staff in his hand … being most
artificially wrought and sett forth.' (fn. 32)
In the bay opposite the Bishop's throne, on
the north side of the quire and occupying the
site of 'Skirlaw's altar,' (fn. 33) is the monument,
with recumbent EFFIGY OF BISHOP
LIGHTFOOT (d. 1891) in white marble,
designed by Sir Edgar Boehm, R.A., and completed after his death by Alfred Gilbert, R.A.
There is also on the south side of the quire a
modern tablet to Joseph Butler, Bishop of
Durham (d. 1752), with an inscription by W. E.
Gladstone.
THE STALLS
THE STALLS, with the tabernacle work over
them, were erected during Cosin's episcopate,
c. 1665, and are interesting examples of the
characteristic work associated with his name, in
which the general form and spirit of the 15th
century are preserved side by side with Renaissance or classic detail. There are eighteen stalls
on each side, and originally there were four
returns on each side of the quire entrance, but
when Cosin's screen was taken down in 1846
the return stalls were removed; the rest were
altered and the tabernacle work 'cut to pieces
and placed between the piers instead of in front
of them.' (fn. 34) The side stalls were restored to their
original positions thirty years later by Sir Gilbert
Scott, the tabernacle work replaced in front of
the piers and new parts carved to take the
place of those destroyed; new front seats were
also added. The stalls have tall and rich canopies supported by circular shafts, traceried back
panelling, and a series of carved misericordes. (fn. 35)
The desks and carved bench-ends (fn. 36) are of the
same date, as is also the litany desk, which
bears the arms of Cosin and those of the see.
The oak faldstools in the sanctuary are also
Cosin's.
Of other mediaeval QUIRE FITTINGS no
proper record of the quire-screen has been
preserved, but it appears to have been of stone
and adorned with statues of kings and queens
of England and Scotland and of bishops,
founders and benefactors of the church. (fn. 37) The
destruction of Cosin's screen is much to be
deplored. It is described as a magnificent work
of elaborately and richly carved oak vigorously
treated. Upon it was placed in 1684 the organ
built by Bernard Schmidt (Father Smith) in a
very handsome oak case on which were the arms
of Bishop Crewe. The case was removed from
the church in 1876 and is now in the Cathedral
Library. (fn. 38)
The present open quire-screen, by Sir Gilbert
Scott, is of three bays, of marble and alabaster,
with clustered piers and spandrels of mosaic
work.
The altar put up by Dean Hunt (1620–38),
consisting of a red marble slab on six supporting
pillars, is still in position, though covered by the
later altar designed by Scott. The 'cherubim
faces' complained of by Peter Smart have disappeared, but holes on the faces of the pillars mark
their position.
Two brass chandeliers, dating from 1751,
hang in the quire; another and larger one has
been lost.
THE CROSSING
THE CROSSING was designed to receive a
vault, but it is impossible now to say whether the
vault was built. In each of the four internal angles
is a single attached shaft; these shafts are original
up to rather more than half the height from the
springing of the crossing arches to the gallery
above, but the walling shows that there has
never been a vault below the gallery level. (fn. 39) It
is possible that no central tower was built, the
crossing being perhaps covered with a low
pyramidal roof; but, supposing a tower of some
sort to have been erected, it seems to have been
rebuilt or heightened in the latter half of the
13th century by Prior Hugh de Derlington, and
it was this upper structure or bell-tower which
was set on fire by lightning and destroyed in
May 1429. It seems to have been constructed
largely of timber, and was surmounted by a small
cupola covered with copper or brass. The new
tower which took its place was 'so enfeebled and
shaken' by 1458 that doubts were entertained
as to its standing for any length of time, and its
rebuilding, as already stated, was carried out in
1470–76, the lantern or bell-chamber not being
completed till about fifteen years later. Above
the arches of the crossing the great tower rises
some 150 ft., its total height above the ground
being 218 ft. The internal gallery is reached by
doorways with crocketed ogee hood-moulds,
one in the middle of each of the four walls, and
is carried on corbels. It has a parapet pierced
with quatrefoils in circles and a moulded
coping; the alternate corbels are carved with
grotesques, and two on the west side bear respectively the arms of Bishops Booth and Langley. (fn. 40)
Between the gallery and the great windows the
wall surface on either side the doorways is
covered with an arcade of tall cinquefoiled arches
set in pairs, each pair below a crocketed canopy
and separated from the next by slender buttresses
of two stages. The arcading stands on a projecting string-course in which are set four-leaf
flowers and small corbels supporting the buttresses. Two of these corbels are carved with
the rebus of Prior Richard Bell (1464–78) and a
third with a mermaid. Above the arcade are a
string-course and band of quatrefoils at the
level of the sills of the great windows, in front of
which the quatrefoil panels are pierced and the
band forms the parapet of a wall passage which at
this level goes round the whole tower. Immediately above the windows the tower is vaulted
with a quadripartite vault subdivided by intermediate and lierne ribs with carved bosses at
the intersections and having a large well-hole.
The diagonal ribs spring at the angles from round
vaulting-shafts and the transverse ribs from a
shaft in the middle of each wall carried on a corbel. Above the vault is the bell-ringers' floor,
and over this again the bell chamber. Externally
the tower is of two unequal stages above the
roofs. The loftier lower stage has on each side
two tall pointed windows, lighting the crossing
below the vault, each of two lights divided by a
transom and covered by ogee crocketed labels
with tall finials. The windows are flanked and
separated by narrow panelled pilasters, each with
figures in the lower panels. This stage is divided
from that above by a narrow external gallery,
reached by a doorway in the north wall, called
the Bell-ringers' Gallery, which has a pierced
embattled parapet. The upper, or bell chamber,
stage has also two pointed windows on each side,
each of two lights, with ogee crocketed labels,
and slender buttress between, and finishes
with a pierced embattled parapet. The roof is
leaded. There are double buttresses at each
angle of the tower, carried up its full height, in
the front of which are canopied niches containing
statues. The higher stages above the main roofs
are reached by a staircase in the south-west
angle, entered from the roof space of the south
transept.
In 1810 the exterior of the upper stage was
cased in cement, and the whole tower 'made to
suffer serious indignities,' but at the restoration
of 1859 the cement was removed and the whole
of the upper stage refaced in stone. The statues,
which had been taken down in 1810, (fn. 41) were reinstated and thirteen new ones added. The
exterior of the tower was much altered in detail
at this time. (fn. 42) Massive squinches in the angles
of the upper stage may point to an intention to
build a spire, or octagon, (fn. 43) an intention never
carried out.
THE TRANSEPTS
THE TRANSEPTS with their eastern aisles
nearly resemble each other in their details.
Each transept consists, or rather was originally
intended to consist, of two double bays of
unequal size. The double bay next the crossing
on each side is considerably longer than the
other, and the bays are separated by a semicircular transverse of two orders, with shafted
responds of the same type as those of the former
transverse between the double bays of the quire.
The widths of the arches next the crossing are
governed by the width of the quire aisles, and
consequently they occupy in each case more
than half the width of the first double bay, so
that the span of the adjoining arch is less by
nearly 3 ft. The same relative diminution is
preserved in the pair of arches in the narrower
end bay, but the crowns of all are kept approximately at the same level by the expedient of
stilting their springing. The southern cylindrical
pier of the south transept has an incised cheveron
pattern upon it in place of the spiral fluting of the
others, and the bases and plinths of the piers
and responds all follow the design of those of
the crossing piers, but with these exceptions the
detail of the arcades is the same as that of the
quire arcades. It should be noted, however,
that the main piers between the double bays are
made shorter on plan than the crossing piers, so
that the shafts carrying the transverses form
continuous suites with the shafts of the responds of the adjoining arches.
The east walls of both transepts up to the
top of the triforium stage belong to St. Calais'
work, and nearly resemble in their general design
the original portion of the quire, both showing
preparation for a high vault. The ground-stage
of each double bay is occupied by a pair of
arches to the aisle springing from heavy cylindrical minor piers and from shafts attached to
the main piers. The face of the triforium wall
is set back to receive the vaulting shafts, as in
the quire, with the difference that the shafts
over the minor piers are double instead of
triple. The triforium openings are of the same
character as those in the quire, with their proportions modified to suit the narrower middle
bays; in the still narrower end bays the opening
is single. The semicircular abutting arches
beneath the triforium roof are repeated.
Above the triforium stage the details of the
east walls of the transepts vary. As already
mentioned, when the building of the walls had
advanced thus far the intention to vault the
transepts was for the time abandoned, but in
the case of the north transept it was resumed
without modification of the original conception.
The triple shafts on the face of the major
pier and the vaulting shafts in the double bay
next the crossing, which start from the triforium string, are finished with capitals at
the same height as those of the crossing pier,
and the clearstory arcade was designed for and
built with the vault. (fn. 44) The shafts in the triforium stage were planned for vaulting each
double bay in two compartments, but the narrowness of the northern bay, together with the
projecting staircase in the angle, made this
difficult and the whole space was covered with
a single bay of vaulting; the double shafts over
the minor pier thus became useless and were
carried up to the curve of the vault. Each of
the four clearstory openings has a plain semicircular highly stilted arch in front of the
window, flanked in the double bay next the
crossing by a narrow and lower arch on each
side, the arches springing from plain outer
jambs and from monolithic shafts with cushion
capitals. In the northern bay, owing to its
single vault, the position of the clearstory
windows left room only for a narrow opening on
each side of the double wall-shaft, the space for
corresponding openings on the other side of
each window being insufficient. These openings
were therefore omitted and square jambs built
to receive the window arches, over which the
lateral cell of the vault passes, forming an
elliptical lunette. The vaulting of the double
bay next the crossing introduces the type of
vault which was afterwards followed in the
south transept and nave (which probably
existed originally over the quire), consisting
of two quadripartite compartments without any
intermediate transverse, and a strongly emphasised transverse between it and the adjoining vault
on the north. The curve of the transverse,
like that of the crossing arch, is a semicircle
slightly stilted and the diagonal ribs are segments of circles struck from centres below the
springing line. The transverse is of two orders,
the outer square and the wider inner order
moulded with a roll between two hollows, similar
to the inner order of the crossing arches. The
ribs also are moulded with a roll between two
hollows (as in the quire aisles) and are constructed of thin stones with lozenge-shaped
keys.
In the south transept the east clearstory was
built to receive a flat wooden ceiling, and
differs considerably from that just described.
Internally the openings in front of the windows
have plain semicircular arches which were flanked,
except in the narrow end bay, by tall narrow
openings with semicircular heads springing
from the same level as those of the windows.
When the idea of vaulting was abandoned the
wall shafts were carried up to the wall head and
thus governed the setting-out of the clearstory
arcade, but later, when the vault was added, it
was found necessary to insert capitals to the shafts
so as to receive the vault members. The capital
of the shaft next the crossing was inserted at a
slightly higher level than that of the crossing
pier and the others were placed at the same
height. All the capitals are single cushions,
except that of the south shaft of the group of three
on the major pier, which has its cushion divided
into two. The double shafts over the southern
cylindrical pier still remain their full height, as
they were not interfered with by the vault,
and a single shaft in the south-east angle,
originally planned as a vaulting shaft and afterwards carried up the wall, also remains unaltered, the diagonal rib of the added vault
springing from an adjoining shaft which rises
from the floor. The narrow openings flanking
the clearstory windows are now partly masked
by the vault, and when this was added all but one (fn. 45)
were walled up. The vaulting followed the plan
and system of that of the north transept, the
only difference being the addition of the cheveron
ornament. This occurs on each side of the outer
order of the transverse, and flanking the rollmoulding of the diagonal ribs, as well as on the
outer order on the south side of the crossing
arch. (fn. 46) The keys of the vault in the two bays
next the crossing are jointed at right angles to the
direction of the rib, but in other respects the
system and construction of the vaulting are the
same as that in the north transept.
The west walls of the transepts probably
belong to the period of the vacancy of the see
after St. Calais' death, their simple character
being in marked contrast to the work opposite.
The only vertical division in each case is formed
by the great triple shafts carrying the main
transverse, and as there is no set-off at the triforium sill no supports were provided to receive
the diagonal ribs of the vaults, their place
being taken by corbels. Next the western
crossing piers each transept opens to the nave
aisle by a semicircular arch of two orders, with
shafted responds, the inner ones forming part
of the great piers, and in each end bay is a semicircular headed window; in the north transept
this window retains the mullions and tracery
inserted in the 14th century, and is of three
lights.
In the north transept the capitals of the great
triple shafts on the west were probably built
with the walls, but in the south transept, when
the idea of vaulting was abandoned, the shafts
were carried up to the wall-head, capitals being
afterwards added to receive the transverse (as on
the east wall), and corbels to take the diagonal
ribs. The corbels in both transepts are carved
with grotesques, but those in the south are of a
more advanced type, the sculptured heads being
similar to the corresponding corbels of the nave.
The treatment of the west triforium stage is
alike in both transepts, but there is variety in
the design of the openings; that next the
crossing in each case consists of a pair of moulded
semicircular arches like those in the quire, but
with single half-shafts attached to the jambs,
and the whole slightly recessed within a plain
semicircular outer order. The opening next to
this is of a different type, consisting of two very
narrow semicircular arches without moulding
of any sort supported by a central circular shaft
of heavy proportions; the shaft is not a monolith,
as in the other openings, its drum being built up
in narrow courses. In the further end bay
there is in each case a triple opening, with wide
middle and narrower flanking arches carried on
shafts with cushion capitals and plain outer
jambs.
The west clearstory of the north transept corresponds with that opposite, except that in the
contracted northern bay there is a single window
with a triple arcade. In the south transept the
clearstory follows generally the design of that
opposite, but as there are no vaulting shafts
at the triforium stage the arrangement of the
narrow flanking openings is somewhat different;
in the double bay, next the crossing, there were
two such openings between the two windows and
a single one beyond each, while in the south
bay the single window was flanked by two
narrow openings on each side. Three of these
eight flanking openings (in the outer bay) remain
as first constructed, but the others were walled
up, or removed when the vault was built. (fn. 47) Both
transepts have clearstory wall-passages on each
side covered with small barrel vaults, but the
vault in the south transept is some 3 ft. 6 in.
higher than the other, having been constructed
at a time when the walls were not expected to
sustain the weight of a vault.
The wall-arcade of the quire aisles is continued
round the outer walls of both transepts, broken
only by the projecting angle turrets, and on the
west side of the south transept by a doorway,
now blocked, opening to the east alley of the
cloister. This doorway has a plain semicircular rear-arch and jambs and externally
the head is of two roll-moulded semicircular
orders springing from nook shafts with cushion
capitals. In the same wall further south is a
fireplace, (fn. 48) opened out and restored in 1901.
The angle turrets contain vices to the triforium
and clearstory passages, access to which is gained
in each case from the transept by a plain doorway
with flat lintel and semicircular relieving
arch.
In the north transept the end wall is almost
entirely occupied above the level of the arcading
by a large six-light window inserted by Prior
Fossor about 1355. The triforium and clearstory
passages are of course interrupted by it, but a
passage a little below the level of the former is
carried across the window by an arcade of six
bays coinciding with the mullions. The lights
are cinquefoiled and the tracery in the head is
composed of forms resembling five-leaved flowers,
the petals of which consist of elongated quatrefoils. The six cinquefoiled arches which carry
the passage across the lower part of the window
appear to have been added late in the 15th
century or early in the 16th century by Prior
Castell; this gallery gives the window from
the inside the appearance of being transomed,
though it is not visible from outside. The
window is thus described in Rites: 'In the
north end of ye allei of the Lantrene ther is a
goodlie faire larg & lightsum glass wyndowe
havinge in it xij faire long pleasant & most
bewtifull lights being maid & buylte wth fyne
stone & glas wch in the ould tyme was gone to
decaie, and ye prior at that tyme called prior
Castell, dide Renewe it, & did buylt yt all up
enowgh againe called the Wyndowe of the iiij
Doctors of ye churche wch hath vj long fair
lightes of glas in ye upper parte of ye said
wyndowe.' The gallery is described as 'the
breadth of the thickness of the wall at the
division of the superiour Lights from the inferiour … and is supported by the Partitions of
the Lighte made strong, and equally broad with
the Gallrey.' The original sill-string, which,
with the clearstory and triforium string-courses,
is continued round the vice-turret, is cut away
from the sill of the window. In the south
transept the end wall remains in its original state
up to the sill of the triforium except that a
modern opening has been made in the groundstage to communicate with the slype. In this
portion of the wall is a large blocked window
with an internal semicircular head and shafted
jambs of two orders. The original sill-string,
which forms the bounding member of the
arcade beneath, remains. A large early 15th-century window fills the two upper stages; it is
of six lights with vertical tracery in the head,
and the jambs are pierced by the triforium passage. This window is described in Rites in the
following terms:—'Also in ye southe end of the
allei of ye Lantren aboue ye clocke there is a
faire large glasse wyndowe Caulede the Te deum
wyndowe veri fair glased accordinge as eu'y verse
of Te de[um] is song or saide, so it is pictured in ye
wyndowe… .' The clock which formerly stood
beneath the window was removed in 1845. The
case was of carved oak, made originally by Prior
Castell, and at one time it stood, according
to Rites, at the south end of the rood-loft. Dean
Hunt in 1632 made several additions to it, but
much of Castell's work remained. The dials are
now set within the blocking of the lower window.
The vaulting of the transept aisles corresponds in every respect with that of the quire
aisles, the transverses having shafted responds
attached to the outer walls and to the main and
cylindrical piers of the transept arcades. In the
north wall of the north transept aisle is a 14th-century window with modern three-light tracery.
Two coupled shafts and the west respond of the
original wall-arcade beneath remain, but the
arches have been removed, the internal sill of
the window being now at the level of the abaci
of the capitals of the shafts. The two east
bays of the arcading have been filled up, and in
the blocking are two rectangular aumbries;
the eastern aumbry is probably of the 13th
century, while the western one appears to be
contemporary with the insertion of the window
above. The three semicircular-headed windows
in the east wall were all at one time filled with
14th-century tracery of three lights, but the
two northern ones were restored in the 'Norman' taste in the 19th century, the tracery
being removed. The two bays of wall arcading
beneath the northernmost window have been
thrown into one semicircular-headed bay in
which traces of painted decoration remain.
The other bays of the transept each contain three
bays of arcading; that in the southernmost
bay has been renewed. The floor of the aisle
is raised three steps above that of the quire
aisle and transept, and an altar-pace is provided
along the east wall. Here were the altars of
St. Nicholas and St. Giles, St. Gregory, and St.
Benedict. In the south transept aisle the three
windows in the east wall are all modern 'Norman' restorations. The openings of the two
northern windows were enlarged internally,
probably in the 14th century, their sills being
splayed down to the abaci of the shafts of the
wall-arcades, and the lower portion of the wallarcade in the middle bay blocked. The wallarcades have recently been restored and the sills
of the windows raised, the two northern bays
of the aisle now forming a memorial chapel
to the officers and men of the Durham Light
Infantry who fell in the Great War. The chapel
is enclosed at its north and south ends by oak
screens, that on the north being based upon
the design of the screen which enclosed the
chapel before 1840. (fn. 49)
The window in the south wall of the aisle
is a 14th-century insertion, and as in the case
of the other 14th-century windows, the sill
is splayed down to the abaci of the arcade shafts.
The floor is raised like that of the north transept
aisle. In the northernmost bay was the altar
of Our Lady 'alias Howghel's altar,' and in the
other two bays were the altars of Our Lady
of Bolton (fn. 50) and of St. Faith and St. Thomas the
Apostle.
THE NAVE
THE NAVE consists of three double bays
from the crossing westward, followed by two
single bays. The double bays are divided from
each other by the great triple shafts which rise
from the floor on the face of the major piers and
receive the great transverses, and each is covered
by a double quadripartite vault without any
intermediate transverse. The two western
bays are covered each by a single quadripartite
vault and are separated by a similar transverse
springing on each side from the three middle
shafts on the inner faces of great piers similar
to those of the crossing; these were required
for the support of the angles of the western
towers, the inner walls of which form the sides
of, and are open to, the westernmost bay of the
nave, while their ground stages constitute the
corresponding bays of the aisles. The vault of
the westernmost nave bay has a large circular
eye-hole. The arcades of the three double bays
follow the general design of those of the quire
and transepts, with semicircular arches on
alternate major and minor piers. The single
western bays, which are each about half the
length of the double bays, have single arches
springing from shafted responds against the
main piers. The general design of the triforium
stage follows that of the quire, (fn. 51) and the
clearstory that of the north transept, with
certain modifications named below.
As already pointed out, the first double bay
of the arcade, the first two bays of each aisle,
and the first bay of the triforium stage date
from the end of the first stage of the work,
which coincided approximately with the early
years of the 12th century. In this earlier
east portion of the nave the general scheme
of the first work, with but slight modifications
of detail, was followed. The first two major
piers belong to it and are similar to those of the
transepts, and the arches are simply moulded.
The supports on the back of these piers and
on the aisle walls opposite are triple shafts,
as in the quire and transepts; but in the case
of the minor cylindrical piers the attached shafts
at the back are omitted and the corresponding
piers, or responds, on the aisle walls are half
cylinders. In omitting the shafts, however,
the builders increased the diameter of the
cylinder, thus giving it a projection into the
aisle sufficient to receive the springing of the
vaulting ribs on that side. This change was
followed in the later work westward. The first
triforium opening resembles in general design
that in the quire next the east crossing piers,
where there are three jamb shafts on each side,
the inner receiving the sub-arch, the middle one
the moulded containing arch, and the outer
being continued up as a vaulting shaft. In
the nave, however, where there are no vaulting
shafts, the outer shaft is finished with a capital
at the same level as the others, and receives
an unmoulded outer order to the containing
arch. The wall thickness, which in the quire
is reduced by recessing, is here retained, the
wall surface being the same as that of the arcade
wall below; this treatment of the wall is continued westward throughout the nave triforium. The triple jamb shafts are repeated
on each side of the pier over the minor pier
of the great arcade, with a narrow strip of wall
surface between the outer shafts, at which point,
on this story, the work of the first building
period ends. Thus far, the work, like that of the
triforium stage on the west side of the transepts, shows no preparation for a high vault,
and as the triforium design of the first bay
was continued in an enriched form westward in
the second building period, it has sometimes
been assumed that when the great arcade and
the triforium of the rest of the nave were built,
the idea of a vault had been abandoned. The
later builders, however, could scarcely have done
otherwise than follow in the triforium what had
been done in the easternmost bay, and they may
have intended from the first to construct a
high vault with corbel supports, as had been
done on the west side of the north transept. (fn. 52)
However that may be, there is evidence to
show that before the clearstory was reached
the construction of a high vault had been
thought out, and there can be no doubt that the
existing vault was built as the original covering
of the nave.
That a vault was intended before the
clearstory was completed is indicated by the
clearstory arcade itself (which is designed to
fit the lunettes of the vault), and by the construction of the abutting arches over the triforium. Both the major and minor piers of
the triforium are reinforced at the back by
broad pilasters of single projection, (fn. 53) and the
vault is abutted by half-arches, or rudimentary
flying buttresses, (fn. 54) of the same width as the
pilasters across the triforium stage beneath
the roof, which on the outer wall spring from
shorter pilasters with chamfered plinths. The
fact that these plinths were built with the wall
shows that preparation was already being made
for the abutment of a high vault, and the arches
themselves could only have been built when the
outer and inner walls had been carried up to a
sufficient height to receive them. The clearstory
arcade is of the same type as that of the north
transept, but of different proportions and more
advanced in character. The semicircular arches
spring, as in the transept, from monolithic
shafts, but the outer jambs have attached
shafts with cushion capitals. The wide stilted
arch in front of the windows is decorated with
cheverons, but the smaller arches remain unmoulded. It should be noted that the barrel
vault over the wall passage is reduced in height
through the pier between the openings, a measure
for which there would have been no need unless
a vault over the nave had been intended, its
purpose being to avoid undue weakening of the
abutment. The whole of the clearstory is a
homogeneous work built at one time; the
cheverons on the middle arches are of the same
type as those of the triforium arches below,
and the cheveron string-course belongs to the
second building period in its whole length,
up to the west side of the crossing. The set-back
of the face of the clearstory wall is very slight,
varying on the north side from 1½ in. to 6 in.,
and on the south never exceeding 2½ in. The
height of the clearstory stage is about 12 in.
more than in the north transept, and seems to
have been controlled by the vault.
The height of the nave vault was governed
to some extent by the semicircular west arch
of the crossing, which is slightly stilted. In
addition to the three shafts which receive the
principal orders of this arch the west piers of
the crossing have, as elsewhere, an additional
shaft designed to receive the outer order of the
arch on that side. This shaft, however, is here
utilised for the springing of the diagonal ribs
of the east bay of the nave, and the outer order
of the crossing arch, which is decorated with
cheverons, dies into the cell of the vault. (fn. 55) When
the walls of the nave were carried up it was intended that the great transverses should be
semicircular, repeating the west crossing arch,
and springer stones were set on the capitals
of the great triple shafts for arches of that shape. (fn. 56)
The semicircular curve was, however, actually
employed for the diagonal ribs, and this in a
large measure controlled the design of the nave
vaulting, the transverse arches becoming
pointed almost as a matter of course in order
to keep the ridge level. (fn. 57) But as the height
did not allow of pointed arches of a normal
form, they were made segmental, the centres
being dropped so considerably that the curves
spring from the capitals with great abruptness.
The pointed arch, too, avoided the weakness
of a flat crown, and the whole vault of the nave
shows a remarkable advance on those of the
transepts. The transverses have two orders,
the wide inner ones moulded with a roll between
two hollows, and the outer ornamented with
cheverons. In the easternmost sub-bay the curves
of the diagonal ribs are very slightly stilted,
but in the second and third bays the height from
the springing to the key of the ribs increases;
from this point, the width of the bays being
greater and the height of the ribs the same,
their curve is a little less than a semicircle.
In consequence of this the keys of the diagonal
ribs are higher than the crowns of the transverse arches, and the crowns of the cells rise
from the latter to the former.
The ribs are moulded with a roll between
two rows of cheverons, and, like the transverses,
are constructed of thin stones. With one exception all the keys are lozenge-shaped. The cells
are built of coursed rubble, plastered on the
underside; where tested their thickness varies
from 12 in. to 20 in. throughout the vault;
except in the two western compartments, the
diagonal ribs spring from corbels, set in pairs in
the middle of each double bay and singly next
the capitals of the great triple shafts. The
corbels are carved with grotesque masks and
each pair has a common abacus. The piers of
the transverse arch between the western towers
have an extra shaft on either side which receive
the ribs.
Westward of the first double bay the arches
of the main arcade differ in detail from the
earlier work. In the inner order the soffit
roll is flanked on each side by a single hollow
instead of a roll and hollow, while the second
orders are decorated with cheverons worked
round a convex profile. On the side facing
the nave there is an outer order of slight projection decorated with a series of sunk squares
above a small angle roll. The arches spring
from triple-shafted responds with cushion
capitals set against the great piers and from minor
cylindrical columns, the cushion capitals of which
have each an eight-sided abacus. The westernmost pier on each side is oblong in general plan,
being thus strengthened to carry the towers.
The respond shafts have plain moulded bases
standing on the pedestals of the great piers,
which carry also the bases of the vaulting shafts,
and are cruciform in plan, consisting of a course
of plain stones capped by a double quirkchamfered moulding, or projecting band, like
that of the piers on the east side of the crossing and in the transepts. The pedestals of the
cylindrical columns are similar, but square on
plan.
All the cylinders have incised decoration,
but of a more advanced character than that of
the columns in the quire. The two which belong
to the first work have a lozengy pattern with two
narrow V-shaped grooves, leaving blank squares
at the intersections; the next pair are covered
with cheverons worked with a sunk bead between
two fillets and hollows, and have a narrow band
of star ornament immediately below the necks
of the capitals; while the pair in the third
double bay have vertical flutes and large beads
separated by fillets. (fn. 58) The wall face above the
arches is quite plain throughout.
The triforium is of eight bays. The easternmost opening has already been described;
the next and all the remaining openings westward are similar in design, but the containing
arch is decorated with the cheveron, on the
south side on both orders, but on the north on
the inner order only, (fn. 59) the outer having an angle
roll with plain cheverons sunk in the flat face
above. The tympanum is solid in every case,
and the triforium string has a plain chamfered
face throughout. The triforium gallery is lighted
from the outside by round-headed windows with
external shafted jambs; on the south side small
pointed windows were inserted, one on each side
of the original opening, at a later date, but
have since been blocked up. (fn. 60)
The clearstory arcade has been described.
The wall-passage runs from end to end and
the windows are semicircular arched, with
external shafted jambs and arches of two orders,
the inner ornamented with cheverons.
The aisles are covered throughout with
quadripartite vaults divided by semicircular
transverses, and are lighted by large roundheaded windows, one to each bay, all of which,
like most of those of the triforium and clearstory, have been 'restored.' (fn. 61) Below the windows
the wall arcade is continued along the whole
length of the aisles and across the west end of the
nave, interrupted only by the several doorways.
The vaulting of the two eastern bays of each
aisle is in every way similar to that in the quire
aisles, the ribs being plainly moulded with a
roll between two hollows. In the later bays westward the ribs have cheverons on each side of the
roll, similar in type to those in the arcade arches. (fn. 62)
The half-round piers, or responds, on the outer
walls, have cushion capitals and pedestalled
bases similar to those of the nave columns
and piers. The westernmost bay on each side
(beneath the towers) is of greater width than
the others, as the towers project considerably
beyond the walls of the aisles. The ribs of the
vault are therefore of greater span and the vault
itself is higher than in the other bays. In
order to give the ribs greater height their springing was lowered by placing the capitals of the
shafts which receive them below the level of
those of the arches opening into the nave and
aisles. The staircase turrets of the towers
project into these bays in their north-west
and south-west angles respectively, each staircase having a doorway similar to those in the
transept turrets. The vault of the north-west
tower has a round eye-hole in the cell next
the nave. There is a window at the west end
of each aisle above the roof of the Galilee. (fn. 63)
The window on the south side of the south-west tower is blocked by the west range of the
monastic buildings.
The west wall of the nave has three doorways
in the ground stage, the middle one being
the original great doorway, which has a semicircular arch of two orders supported on each
side by a single shaft with cushion capitals.
The inner order is decorated with cheveron and
the outer with enriched circular medallions, the
centre one having on it a human face, the others
grotesque animals and figures. The exterior
recessed face of the doorway, now in the Galilee,
has four (fn. 64) orders of cheveron and a hood mould
of lozenges each divided into triangular spaces,
alternately sunk and in relief. The lower part
of the opening has long been blocked by the
altar platform of the Galilee chapel erected by
Bishop Langley, but the upper part remained
open until 1846, when the present great wooden
doors were erected. The doorways on either
side, at the ends of the aisles, have four-centred
heads within a square label and were inserted by
Bishop Langley when he filled in the west doorway; his arms are in the spandrels. Over the
middle doorway, filling the wall of the nave
proper, is the great pointed west window of
seven lights, with very beautiful leaf tracery,
inserted by Prior John Fossor about 1346. It
is known as the Jesse window and originally
contained glass representing the stem of Jesse.
It is described in Rites as 'a most fyne large
wyndowe of glass, being the holl storie of the
Rute of Jesse in most fyne coloured glas, verie
fynely and artificially pictured and wrought in
coulers, veri goodly and pleasantlie to behoulde,
with Mary and Christ in her arms in the top.' (fn. 65)
The present glass dates from 1867.
The great north doorway of the nave is in the
sixth bay of the aisle and has a semicircular
arch of three orders (fn. 66) on the inner face, supported
by two shafts on each side. The two inner
orders are decorated each with the cheveron, and
the outer with a foliage pattern having eighteen
lozenge-shaped compartments on it carved
with grotesque animals, birds and figure subjects. (fn. 67) The outer shaft on each side is plain,
but the whole surface of the inner ones is covered
with interlacing foliage work forming circles
and lozenges, which contain grotesque beasts
and human figures, one a man riding a lion.
The capitals of all the shafts are carved with
foliage and animals and the abaci with a leaf
pattern. (fn. 68) The exterior face of the doorway
has five recessed orders supported on shafts,
but only the innermost order, which has the
cheveron moulding, is in its original state. The
middle and outer orders have also the cheveron,
and the intermediate ones a hollow between two
rolls, but the whole of the surface suffered considerably in Wyatt's restoration and is also
much weathered. The ogee label and panelled
gable above, together with the flanking pinnacled
buttresses, are late 18th-century work of
poor type, (fn. 69) but the side walls behind form
part of the original shallow porch which rose
the full height of the triforium stage. Over
the porch were two chambers, the steps down to
which still remain in the triforium passage, for
the use of those who admitted men to sanctuary,
lighted by two round-headed windows facing
north above the doorway. (fn. 70) The porch appears
to have been heightened and otherwise altered
in the 13th century, old engravings showing a
high gable between great turret buttresses,
below which was a wide pointed arch springing
at the level of the triforium roof, and enclosing
an arcade of three arches. (fn. 71) On the door are
indications of former elaborate ironwork, but
the 12th-century bronze ring, or 'knocker,'
is still in position. The ring hangs from the
jaws of a grotesque head, the eyes of which,
now hollow, were originally filled in some way,
perhaps with enamel. (fn. 72)
On the south side of the nave are two doorways
opening to the cloister and forming the eastern
and western processional doors. The first is in
the easternmost bay of the aisle and has a semicircular stilted arch of two orders on the inside, of
the end of the first building period; both orders
are moulded with a
roll between two
hollows, the inner
continuous and the
outer on single jamb
shafts with volute
capitals. The external face is of later
date, probably of the
time of Pudsey, and
has an unstilted
semicircular arch of
four orders, the innermost continuous, the
others supported on
shafts with carved
capitals and moulded
bases on high plinths.
All four orders are
richly moulded, the
innermost with
lozenges, the second
with enriched billets,
the third with a
deeply hollowed
spiral pattern, while
the outer order, now
much broken, appears
to have consisted of
a species of cheveron.
Durham Cathedral: 12th-century Ring or Knocker on North Door
The other doorway
is in the sixth bay opposite the great north
doorway, and has a semicircular arch of
three orders, the inner supported on single
shafts, the two outer on coupled shafts, all with
cushion capitals. The two inner orders are
decorated with cheveron and the outer with a
floriated ornament set with medallions, the
lower four on each side containing alternately
conventional leaves and grotesque animals, and
the three middle ones each a leaf. The shafts
are all elaborately ornamented, the two outer
ones on each side with a lozenge pattern of
parallel ridges and grooves, and the inner one
with a pattern of the same type but different in
character, the space in the centre of each lozenge
being occupied by four leaves. The capitals
are covered with a pattern of grotesque animals
and foliage. (fn. 73) On the external face the arch is
of three cheveroned orders supported on shafts
with lozenge ornament; the ornament on this
side of the doorway is much decayed. The
door itself retains its scroll hinges and is covered
with elaborate contemporary ironwork of beautiful design.
This doorway and the great north doorway
opposite appear to
be as late as the time
of Bishop Geoffrey
Rufus (1133–40), or
even later, the resemblance between
certain features in the
sculpture and that
on the doorway of the
Chapter House and
on the corbels which
once supported its
eastern vaulting ribs
being very marked. (fn. 74)
In the fifth bay of
the south aisle a doorway, now blocked,
was at a later time
cut through the wall
to the enclosed north
alley of the cloister.
In the floor of the
nave between the
great piers immediately west of the
north and south
doorways is the 'row
of blue marble' described in Rites, (fn. 75)
forming a cross of
two short arms at
the centre, eastward of which no woman was
allowed to pass.
Of the various FITTINGS AND FURNISHINGS OF THE NAVE few traces remain.
The rood screen, described in Rites as 'a high
stone wall,' stood before the western piers of
the crossing, with the Jesus altar in front and a
doorway at either end. (fn. 76) On the face of the
screen, from pillar to pillar, was 'the whole
story and passion of our Lord wrought in stone'
and over this the 'story and pictures of the
twelve apostles,' while upon the wall 'above the
height of all' stood the 'most goodly and
famous rood that was in all the land, with the
picture of Mary on the one side and the picture
of John on the other, with two splendid and
glistering archangels.' (fn. 77) Each end of the Jesus
altar was 'closed up with fine wainscot,' in
which were four aumbries on the south side
and a door in the north.
The second and third bays of the south aisle
formed the Neville chantry, in which was an
altar 'with a faire allabaster table (fn. 78) over it.'
This chantry chapel was enclosed at each end
by 'a little stone wall,' that at the east being
'somewhat higher than the altar' and wainscoted above; the other had an 'iron grait'
on top, and towards the nave the chapel was
'invyroned with iron.' In 1416 the bodies of
Ralph, Lord Neville (d. 1367), and Alice de
Audley, his wife (d. 1374), were moved to the
chapel from before the Jesus altar where they
had been originally buried, (fn. 79) and their monument,
much defaced, (fn. 80) still stands 'betwixt two
pillars' of the nave arcade in the second subbay. The alabaster effigy of Ralph Neville is
reduced to a headless and mutilated trunk, but
that of the lady is tolerably perfect, though the
face is destroyed. The table tomb on which
they rest has been stripped of nearly all its
ornamentation, a portion of panelling above
the plinth, with shields set in quatrefoils, alone
remaining. In the next bay westward is the
monument of their son John, Lord Neville
(d. 1386), and his wife Maud Percy; the tomb
has canopied niches, (fn. 81) with weepers, all round,
separated by trefoiled panels containing shields
which bear alternately the Neville saltire and
the Percy lion rampant. Of the effigies little
remains but the shattered and broken trunks,
'reduced to something like great boulders.' (fn. 82)
In the floor close by is a blue slab with the
matrix of the brass of Robert Neville, Bishop of
Durham (d. 1457). (fn. 83)
The altar of Our Lady of Pity (fn. 84) stood between
the pillars of the north arcade in the bay immediately west of the north doorway, and that
of the Bound Rood (fn. 85) in the corresponding situation on the south; both were 'enclosed on each
side with wainscote.' Another altar, known as
St. Saviour's, stood on the north side of the
north-west tower. (fn. 86) Attached to the piers
immediately west of the north and south doors
were holy water stoups of marble, that on the
north serving 'all those that came that waie
to here divyne service,' the other 'the prior
and all the convent with the whole house.' (fn. 87)
These stoups were taken away by Dean Whittingham (1563–79) and put to 'profane uses' in
his kitchen and buttery. (fn. 88) There was another
near the south-east doorway. (fn. 89)
Of modern monuments west of the quire the
chief is that of Bishop Shute Barrington (d.
1826), a marble statue by Chantrey, in which the
bishop is represented kneeling. In the nave is
a recumbent marble statue of Dr. James Britton,
sometime master of Durham Grammar School
(d. 1836), and a tablet to Sir George Wheler,
antiquary and traveller, the holder of a stall
in the Cathedral (d. 1723). (fn. 90) There are other
memorial tablets but none of interest.
The present font dates from 1846 and has a
rectangular bowl of Caen stone supported on
pillars, in the style of the 12th century. It
took the place of a white marble font of chalice
type erected by Cosin in 1663, which was given
in 1846 to Pittington Church, where it now is.
Cosin's lofty canopy of tabernacle work, however,
survived all the 19th-century restorations. It is
a splendid piece of work, standing on eight
fluted pillars with composite capitals, the lower
stage being of classic, and the upper stages of
pronounced Gothic design. (fn. 91)
The present pulpit dates from the restoration
of 1876 and is of Devonshire alabaster and marble
inlay, standing on columns of Siena marble
inlaid with mosaic. (fn. 92)
The pelican lectern was designed by Sir
Gilbert Scott from the description of the ancient
lectern at the north end of the high altar in
Rites. It is of brass, (fn. 93) enriched with filigree
work and adorned with crystals and amethysts.
THE GALILEE CHAPEL
THE GALILEE CHAPEL, built by Bishop
Pudsey, consists of five aisles, (fn. 94) separated by
four arcades, each of four depressed semicircular
arches resting on pairs of separate Purbeck
marble shafts with joined moulded bases and
square waterleaf capitals having high moulded
abaci. These columns are now converted into
clustered shafts, quatrefoil on plan, by the
addition of stone shafts on the east and west
sides of each pair, with capitals and bases in
close imitation of the old work. This addition
was made by Bishop Langley, who put a new
roof on the chapel, and raised the wall above
the two middle arcades. These extra shafts
may have been added out of timidity, or for
æsthetic reasons. The arches of the arcades
are very richly decorated with three rows of
double cheveron moulding separated by rolls.
The responds on the east and west walls have
not the additional shafts. Those abutting upon
the jambs of the west door of the nave are somewhat clumsily adjusted in relation to the older
work. The east side of the chapel has in the
centre the great black marble platform of the
Lady Altar (fn. 95) erected by Bishop Langley, of
which his tomb forms part, steps rising on either
side of it to the altar platform itself. The
opening of the west doorway was at one time
filled by a painted wooden reredos of 15th-century date, unfortunately destroyed in 1845.
It is described in Rites as having been 'devised
and furnished with most heavenly pictures …
lively in colours and gilting,' and is shown in
drawings made by Carter in 1795. (fn. 96) The
altar stood within the doorway opening, in
the south jamb of which is a large recess which
originally formed part of one of the 'two fine
and close aumeryes' of wainscot at either side
behind the portal. (fn. 97) The mensa is now placed
in the floor of the platform where the altar
formerly stood. Langley's tomb is of blue
marble and its top is quite plain, but round its
moulded edge is a chase for an inscription in
brass, now lost. The tomb projects some 6 ft.
westward into the chapel, and at its west end
are three panels each containing a large shield
with the bishop's arms. The chantry chapel,
or Canterie, in which the tomb and altar stood,
occupied two bays of the middle aisle, a space
of about 24 ft. by 13 ft., its floor raised a step
above that of the Galilee, and enclosed each side
by an open screen. (fn. 98)
On either side of the west doorway of the nave
is a wide round-headed altar recess, quite plain
in section but having a double cheveron ornament
on the face of the arch; that on the north
contained the altar of Our Lady of Pity and that
on the south Bede's altar. These recesses are
formed in the original west wall of the church, and
cut away the foot of the buttresses flanking the
west window of the nave. The east end of the
northernmost aisle, now pierced by one of
Langley's doorways, has a 13th-century inner
pointed arch of two moulded orders and dogtooth label, supported on short shafts with
moulded capitals, and bases raised 5 ft. above the
chapel floor. The recess thus formed may have
originally contained an altar, and it has been
suggested that the altar of Our Lady of Pity
first stood there and was removed by Langley
to its present position, (fn. 99) a position probably
occupied originally by the principal altar to the
Blessed Virgin which Langley placed in front
of the great doorway. In the soffit, jambs
and back of each of the recesses on either side of
the doorway are considerable remains of painting, those in the northern recess being in a fine
state of preservation. This painting, which is
for the most part contemporary with the building, consists of a band of conventional leaf ornament running round the recess at the level of
the springing, a larger pattern of similar nature
on the soffit, and a panel on the inside face of
each jamb; on the panels on the north and
south sides respectively are figures of a king and
bishop, probably St. Oswald and St. Cuthbert,
in architectural canopies. The colours—green,
blue, red and yellow, with dark brown outlines—
are still very fresh, and the figures are boldly and
effectively drawn in the finest style of 12th-century painting, in round arched niches with
masonry towers in spandrels and apex. The
back of the recess, below the ornamental band,
is occupied by a painted representation of hangings, or looped drapery, with borders at top and
bottom, but the middle part on which no doubt
was the picture of Our Lady 'carryinge our
Saviour on her knee, as he was taken from the
cross,' (fn. 100) is now completely defaced. This drapery,
which is of a pale yellow colour, is probably of
later date than the rest of the painting, but is
certainly not post-Reformation. (fn. 101)
The grave of the Venerable Bede, (fn. 102) in front of
where his altar stood, is marked by a plain table
tomb of blue marble made in 1542, after the
shrine had been defaced. (fn. 103) The grave was opened
in 1831, (fn. 104) when the coffin and bones were found
3 ft. below the floor. The present inscription—
'Hac sunt in fossa Bædæ venerabilis ossa'—
was afterwards cut upon the slab. (fn. 105) The words
form the last line of the epitaph written by
Cosin and placed over the tomb about 1633,
and are derived from the first line of the older
inscription recorded in Rites. (fn. 106) There is a
rectangular aumbry at the south end of the Bede
altar recess and a smaller one at the north end of
the altar of Our Lady of Pity. A pulley still in
the roof over where Bede's shrine stood was
probably used for suspending a lamp before his
altar. There is another in the same position
in front of Our Lady of Pity's altar.
The side-walls of the chapel are almost wholly
restored or modern. The round-headed doorway on the north side, after being long blocked,
was opened out in 1841, but the whole wall was
rebuilt in 1866, the original design of the doorway being, however, reproduced. The opening
is below a gable and deeply recessed—the wall
being increased in thickness on both sides—and
is of three richly moulded orders, the two outer
decorated with cheverons, springing from shafts
with volute capitals. The doorway is in the
third bay from the east, the others being
occupied by windows of two, three, and two
lights respectively. Originally, the chapel was
lighted by round-headed windows placed high
in the walls above the arches of the outer
arcades, four on each side, the outlines of which
are visible. There were probably windows in
the west wall also. The present arrangement
dates from the end of the 13th century, when the
outside walls were increased in height and windows placed on all three sides of the chapel.
There are still two openings of this date in the
west wall, one at each end, the others having
been replaced by windows of Langley's time.
The two 13th-century windows are of threepointed lights in a two-centred head with pierced
spandrels, and those in the south wall are of the
same design. The three 15th-century windows,
which are larger, are each of three lights with a
transom and have perpendicular tracery in high-shouldered drop-centred heads, the middle
window being taller than the others. A few
fragments of ancient coloured glass remain in
the tracery, including part of a Flight into
Egypt and a Virgin and Child. (fn. 107)
Below the second window from the north is a
small doorway leading to a chamber built out
on the outer face of the west wall, on an arch
between two of the buttresses added in the
15th century by Langley to counteract the visible
tendency of the arcades to lean westward. This
chamber contains a well, (fn. 108) and south of it,
between the central pair of buttresses on a
similar arch, is a wide and low recess opening to
the chapel under the window at the end of the
middle aisle. Small rectangular loops in the
outer walls of the chamber and recess command
a magnificent view across the Wear. On the
outer face of the west wall of the chapel, within
the chamber, are the remains of a bold pattern
of intersecting straight lines of roll-moulding
which, as part of the original design, is carried
across the west wall below the windows, with
two stages of arcading below it, the upper interlaced and the lower single, with solid spandrels.
In the floor of the Galilee are several grave
slabs, three of which have indents for brasses.
The grave of John Brimley (d. 1576), master of
choristers and organist, is in the middle aisle;
there is a good armorial slab to Mrs. Dorothy
Grey (d. 1662). The two outermost aisles have
lean-to roofs, and the three inner ones flat open
timber roofs of seven bays, with moulded
principals on stone corbels, all of Langley's
time. Externally, the roofs are leaded, behind
embattled parapets. (fn. 109)
Until 1822 the north aisle was walled off and
used as a repository for wills, and the south aisle
was stalled and benched and used as a Consistory
Court until 1796, when the court was transferred
to the north transept. (fn. 110)
There is a ring of eight BELLS in the central
tower, five of which are by Christopher Hodson,
1693; the treble is by Pack and Chapman, 1780,
the third by the same firm (then Chapman), 1781,
and the fourth a recasting by Mears and Stainbank in 1896 of one of Hodson's bells. With
the exception of the treble these bells are in
direct descent from the 'seven great bells in the
steeples' mentioned in 1553, four of which were
in the north-west tower, or Galilee steeple, and
three in the central tower. (fn. 111) During the time
of Dean Whittingham (1563–79) three of the
bells in the Galilee steeple were removed to the
central tower, (fn. 112) and the remaining one at a
later date. Of these four, the great, or Galilee,
bell is recorded to have been given by Prior
Fossor, two others were known respectively as
St. Bede's bell and St. Oswald's bell, while the
smallest is described as having been long and
narrow skirted. (fn. 113) The whole of the bells seem
to have been recast in 1632, and three of them
again in 1639 (and 1682), 1664, and 1665 respectively. The number was increased to eight by
the addition of a new treble when Christopher
Hodson recast the whole ring in 1693. (fn. 114)
Bishop Cosin presented a fine set of silver-gilt
PLATE to the cathedral, but of this only one
piece, described by him as 'a fair, large, scallopt
paten, with a foot and cover of fair embossed
work,' (fn. 115) now remains. The rest was recast in
1767, and in its present form consists of two
cups, two patens, two flagons, two large patens,
two loving cups, and one alms dish. All these
pieces are engraved with Cosin's arms, and bear
the mark of François Butty and Nicholas Dumee,
with the London date-letter 1766–7; they are
of silver gilt enriched with flower sprays and
gadroons. There are also two spoons, undated,
but with the mark of Paul Callard, of London; (fn. 116)
a silver-gilt 17th-century chalice, bearing German
or Dutch assay marks, given by Archdeacon
Watkins in 1905; (fn. 117) and a silver-gilt paten made
in 1912–13, presented in memory of Canon
Body (d. 1911). For use in the Durham Light
Infantry Memorial Chapel there are a chalice and
paten of 1903–4, and a flagon of 1904–5, London
make. The silver-gilt candlesticks on the high
altar are recastings in 1767 of those given by
Cosin.
THE EXTERNAL ELEVATIONS
THE EXTERNAL ELEVATIONS of the
main fabric have been altered chiefly by the
insertion of tracery windows in the quire aisles
and transepts and by the paring of the wall
surfaces already mentioned, (fn. 118) but the general
outlines of the first design have been preserved.
Between the aisle windows and those of the
nave clearstory are flat pilaster buttresses, but
in the clearstory of the quire and transepts they
occur only in front of the major piers. There
are strings at the level of the sills of the aisle and
triforium windows, dividing the walls horizontally into three stages, and an intermediate one
at the springing of the arches of the aisle windows
continuing the labels. All the strings are taken
round the buttresses. The ground stage throughout, beginning with the earliest work from the
east, is occupied by a wall-arcade, which stands
upon a plinth of the same character as that
already noted inside the building, with projecting double chamfered band. The arcade
consists of simple semicircular arches, two to
each bay, and of two moulded orders, (fn. 119) on
shafts with cushion capitals and moulded bases.
The small two-light triforium windows of the
quire, enclosed within a segmental containing
arch, are repeated on the east side of the transepts, but on the west the windows are large
single openings like those of the nave. On
both sides of the transepts the windows of the
clearstory follow the treatment of those in the
quire, but with an arch of two orders; the
nave clearstory windows are similar with cheverons on the inner order. Above the triforium the
walls now finish with a straight parapet, but
formerly each bay of the nave aisles had a
transverse roof ending in a gable, traces of which
may be seen on the north side. (fn. 120) The parapet
above the clearstory is also plain, but rests on a
corbel table. At the north-east and south-east
angles of the transepts respectively are flat
clasping buttresses with angle-rolls carried up
above the roofs as square turrets; the wide
staircase turrets at the opposite angles have also
angle-rolls, but change to octagonal form at the
clearstory level. The gable and turrets of the
south transept and the western return wall
were rebuilt and refaced in 1826–9; the north
end of the north transept was altered a good
deal in detail about the same time, the turrets
being modernised and made to finish with open
parapets, the gable 'barbarously treated,' (fn. 121) and
new figures placed in the roundels above Fossor's
great window. (fn. 122)
The western towers were in all probability
originally covered with pyramidal roofs above the
level of the corbel table, which is a continuation
of those of the nave. The 12th-century work
terminates at this height and is of the same plain
and solid character as that of the body of the
church, with flat clasping buttresses at the
angles and blank round-headed windows in the
upper stages. The external wall-arcade and
string-courses are carried round the towers.
The 13th-century upper portions consist of four
unequal stages, the first and third with open
arcades of tall pointed arches, (fn. 123) and the less
lofty second and fourth stages with wall-arcades
of semicircular arches, the arcading in each case
being carried round the buttresses. All the
arches are moulded and supported on shafts.
The open parapets and pinnacles date only from
about 1801, (fn. 124) before which the towers seem to
have terminated with solid moulded battlements. (fn. 125)
Until the time of the Commonwealth they
were surmounted by 'great broaches,' or timber
spires covered with lead. (fn. 126) From the turret
staircases there is access to the triforium passages
and from this level the towers are open to the
roof. There is access also to the platform at
the base of the great west window, and at the
level of the nave clearstory is a passage, now
blocked, which ran round all four sides. The
north-west tower was known as the Galilee
steeple, and four bells hung in it.
The lower part of the west front of the
church is hid by the Galilee, above the roof of
which, between the towers, is Fossor's great
window, set within a wide semicircular stilted
arch. Over this again and immediately below
the gable is a wall-arcade of seven tall roundheaded arches, richly ornamented with cheveron.
The west front, seen from the high ground at the
opposite side of the river, forms a very majestic
and well-balanced composition, buttressed as
it were by the projecting mass of the Galilee
and towering high above the tree-clad cliff.
In the cathedral church there were several
CHANTRIES. Of these one of the earliest was
founded about the year 1355 by Ralph Lord
Neville, (fn. 127) who assigned an annual rent-charge of
£10, which was later compounded for by the
release of a debt of £400 by his son John. The
mass of this foundation was sung at the altar
of the Great Rood (Magnae Crucis). Another
Neville chantry, that of Thomas Neville, is mentioned in the 16th century. (fn. 128) A third chantry,
probably situated at the altar of St. Bede in the
Galilee, was that of Bishop Neville (d. 1457) and
Richard of Barnard Castle. (fn. 129) The chantry of
Walter Skirlaw (d. 1405) was attached to the
altar known previously as that of St. Blaise. (fn. 130)
The chantry of the Holy Trinity of Prior Fossor
(d. 1374) (fn. 131) was founded for a monk to say mass
for his soul daily at the altar of St. Nicholas and
St. Giles in the north transept. The chantry
of the Name of Jesus (fn. 132) was either founded or
augmented by Prior Thomas Castell (d. 1519),
who also built the chapel of St. Helen. The
chantry of John Rude may have been identical
with that of Robert Rodes of Newcastle and
his wife Agnes. (fn. 133) Of the important foundation
of Bishop Langley (d. 1437), the chantry of
Our Lady and St. Cuthbert in the Galilee, an
account has been given in an earlier volume. (fn. 134)
Other chantries in the cathedral church which
may be mentioned were those of Isabel Lawson (fn. 135)
and of Our Lady of Pity. (fn. 136)
The most important gild associated with the
cathedral church was that of St. Cuthbert, often
known as the Frary. Its foundation was early. (fn. 137)
At the Dissolution the gross yearly value of the
revenues of this gild was estimated (fn. 138) at £7 14s. 8d.,
or, less reprises, £6 16s. 3d. The Anchorage in
the cathedral has already been mentioned. (fn. 139)
In the chapel of the castle of Durham was a
chantry which in 1535 was of the annual value
of 40s. (fn. 140)